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ByNicholasPaphitis The Associated Press ATHENS, GREECE Tieless and eschewing the tradi- tional religious swearing- in ceremony, but with a surprise coalition deal in the bag and a sanguine in- ternational reception, rad- ical left leader Alexis Tsip- ras took over Monday as austerity-wracked Greece's new prime minister. Hours earlier, the 40-year-old's Syriza party trounced the outgoing, conservative government in Sunday's national elec- tions, on a platform of eas- ing social pain and securing massive debt forgiveness. Although Syriza fell tan- talizingly short of a govern- ing majority in the 300-seat parliament, Tsipras moved quickly Monday to secure the support of 13 lawmakers from the small, right-wing populistIndependent Greeks party, raising his total to 162. ""We have the required majority," Tsipras told Greek President Karolos Pa- poulias, shortly before be- ing sworn in as prime min- ister, the youngest Greece has seen in 150 years and the first incumbent to take a secular oath rather than the religious one customar- ily administered by a Greek Orthodox official. Initial reactions from in- ternational markets and officials from Greece's bail- out creditors were markedly unflustered. "We stand ready to con- tinue supporting Greece, and look forward to discus- sions with the new govern- ment," International Mon- etary Fund director Chris- tine Lagarde said. Jeroen Dijsselbloem, the Dutchman who chairs eu- rozone finance ministers' meetings, said that even though "there is very lit- tle support for debt write- offs," there is room to "come back to debt sustainability issues" in the future— if necessary. His views were echoed by the prime minister of Fin- land, a country that has long been among the most unmovable on austerity is- sues. Alexander Stubb said that even if he opposes for- giving Greece's debts out- right, he would be prepared to discuss extending loan repayments. In Washington, State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki congratulated Syriza and Tsipras, and said the U.S. looked forward to working with the new gov- ernment on "domestic re- forms and international ef- forts to foster Greece's eco- nomic recovery." "There's no question, Greece has made signifi- cant progress on a very dif- ficult economic adjustment and reform program," Psaki said. "There are indications that the economy is poised for renewed growth, but many challenges remain." The alliance between Syriza and the Independent Greeks — two ideologically opposed parties who share only their opposition to the bailout — boosted stock markets across Europe that had fallen on news of the uncertain election re- sults and fear of a second election. After a topsy-turvy session in Athens, stocks closed 3.2 percent down. Syriza won 36.3 per- cent of the vote in Sunday's early general elections, 8.5 percentage points ahead of former Prime Minister An- tonis Samaras' conserva- tives. Nazi-rooted Golden Dawn, whose leadership is in prison awaiting trial for allegedly running a crim- inal organization, came third at 6.3 percent. The Independent Greeks have pledged to support Syriza in Parliament with its 13 lawmakers, party leader Panos Kamenos said. Syriza officials said the In- dependent Greeks would take certain cabinet posi- tions, although no details have been revealed so far. Tsipras has promised to renegotiate Greece's mas- sive bailout agreements, but insists he will not take any unilateral action against lenders from other euro- zone countries and the IMF. Tsipras' choice to deal with the nationalist Inde- pendent Greeks — a party aligned in Europe with the UK Independence Party — rather than the centrist Potami caused concern that he could take a tough line in negotiations with rescue lenders. Potami leader Stavros Theodorakis described the Independent Greeks as "far right and anti-European." Syriza's financial plan- ning official, Giorgos Statha- kis, confirmed Monday that the new government had no plans to meet with negotia- tors from the "troika" of the European Central Bank, the European Commission and the International Monetary Fund and would instead seek talks directly with gov- ernments. Greek voters swung to the once-marginal left-wing party after five years of pun- ishing austerity measures demanded under 240 billion euro ($268 billions) bailout deals threw hundreds of thousands of people out of work and left nearly a third of the country without state health insurance. Thousands of supporters turned out to watch Tsipras speak in central Athens af- ter his opponents conceded. "The Greek people have written history," he said, to cheers. "Greece is leav- ing behind the destructive austerity, fear and author- itarianism, it is leaving be- hind five years of humilia- tion and pain." EUROPE Greece'sfirstradicalle primeministerswornin By Raf Casert and Pan Pylas The Associated Press BRUSSELS For a man long seen as the eurozone's worst nightmare, Alexis Tsipras has had a smooth first day as prime minister of Greece. The firebrand left-winger wants fellow eurozone na- tions to forgive some of his country's bailout loans, something many European leaders have vehemently ruled out. But concerns of a disastrous confrontation — in which, say, Greece might stop repaying its loans or the eurozone stop funding Athens — eased on Monday after both sides said they were open to negotiation. The election of Tsipras and his radical Syriza party had been accompanied by much hand-wringing in European capitals. Besides calling for the cancellation of some of Greece's rescue loans, Tsipras has pledged to undo some of the spend- ing cuts and tax hikes euro- zone countries had required in exchange for the loans. Politicians and investors worried that a tough stance on either side could even lead the country to drop out of the euro, a move that would devastate Greece's economy and destabilize the currency union. But while discussions on Greece's debt have yet to start — and could yet turn sour — the rhetoric on Mon- day from both sides was one of compromise rather than ultimatums. Financial mar- kets retained their poise. "It won't give quite the fireworks that some people were expecting," said Profes- sor Hendrik Vos of the Uni- versityofGhent.Jean-Claude Juncker, the president of the European Union's execu- tive commission, agreed: "I am not excessively nervous about this." That may be an attempt to calm down the politi- cal rhetoric before Greece's new government enters ne- gotiations with its eurozone counterparts. But at the very least, Tsip- ras' election is likely to give new momentum to policy- makers in Europe who want the region to focus less on debt reduction, as Germany has insisted for years, and more on spending to get growth going. The recognition that the region needs more ac- tion to encourage growth was highlighted by the Eu- ropean Central Bank's an- nouncement last week it would start buying 1.1 tril- lion euros in bonds to stim- ulate the economy. The Eu- ropean Commission earlier launched a 315 billion euro investment plan. Greece has since 2010 needed 240 billion euros ($270 billion) in loans from fellow eurozone countries and the International Mon- etary Fund to avoid bank- ruptcy. Those loans came only on strict conditions that Greece cut its debts sharply. It cut spending and raised taxes — measures that had the side-effect of hurting growth. Greece suffered an economic depression and a surge in unemployment to above 25 percent. Riding popular discon- tent over this austerity im- posed by the eurozone cred- itor nations, Tsipras rode to power on a promise to undo some of the painful policies and demand a cut on the rescue loans it owes. Despite the tough rheto- ric, both Syriza officials and eurozone leaders said they were willing to be flexible. "France will be at Greece's side," said French President Francois Hol- lande. Jeroen Dijsselbloem, the Dutchman who chairs euro- zonefinanceministers'meet- ings, said that even though "there is very little support for debt write-offs," there is room to consider ways to makeGreece'sdebtmoresus- tainable, if necessary. His views were echoed by the leaders of Belgium and Finland, which has long been among the most un- movable on austerity issues. Regional heavyweight Germany, however, was non-committal beyond stressing that Greece needs to honor its commitments. "Greece is still in the pro- cess of building a new gov- ernment," said German Fi- nance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble. Yanis Varoufakis, a Syriza member who is tipped by some to become the next finance minister, sought to downplay con- cerns that the new govern- ment would take an aggres- sive stance in negotiations. He said the government would seek to convince its euro partners that reduc- ing Greece's debt burden by linking repayments to growth, say, would be pos- itive for all sides. At pres- ent, Greece has to repay its loans whatever the state of its economy, further wors- ening the country's debt. At over 170 percent of GDP, Greece's debt is way beyond levels most economists con- sider manageable. He has also dismissed suggestions that Syriza would threaten to pull Greece out of the euro, so- called Grexit. Amid the calmer rheto- ric, the main stock market in Athens recovered much of its sharp losses of the day to close down 3.2 per- cent. European stocks also largely closed higher while the euro clambered up from 11-year lows. ECONOMIC WORRIES Eurozone looks for dialogue a er stunning Greek elections LEFTERISPITARAKIS—THEASSOCIATEDPRESS Greece's Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras waves to the members of media as he arrives at Maximos Mansion, the Greek Prime Minister's official residence in Athens, on Monday. LEFTERIS PITARAKIS — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS A worker dismantles a banner with a picture of Alexis Tsipras, the leader of Greece's Syriza le -wing opposition party, at the party's kiosk in central Athens, on Monday. 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