Papademos sworn in to lead party-packed Greek cabinet

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ATHENS, Nov 12 (Reuters):Technocrat Prime Minister Lucas Papademos took office Friday to save Greece from bankruptcy, heading a coalition cabinet filled with many of the same politicians who led the nation into crisis and pushed the euro zone to the brink of collapse. At a colourful swearing-in ceremony, black-robed Orthodox priests, led by the Archbishop of Athens, blessed Papademos, a former vice president of the European Central Bank, and a cabinet dominated by the two main parties which had bickered for four days before agreeing on the crisis coalition. "With the unity of all people, we will succeed," Papademos told George Papandreou, who led the previous Socialist administration that fell apart last week. Apart from Papademos, who has no political experience, the main new face in the cabinet is a minister from the LAOS party -- the first time the far right has entered a Greek government since the country returned to democracy in 1974 following years of military rule. The line-up includes Socialist party power broker Evangels Venizelos, who keeps the post of finance minister that he held in Papandreou's government. Analysts said Papademos -- a quiet academic economist -- had to assert his authority over a cabinet packed with the hardened conservative and Socialist party politicians who took turns in power for decades as Greece built up a huge debt that it could not manage, forcing an international bailout. "Greece has a government that is the result of political compromise among three parties. It is obvious that there was a dealing of the cards," said Costas Panagopoulos, head of ALCO pollsters. "It all now depends on how the prime minister handles them." The interim government of national unity, which has a bumper 48 ministers and their deputies, has a clear mandate that may not be so simple to implement before it calls elections some time early next year. It has to push through parliament Greece's second bailout deal in as many years, not only to get hold of the 130 billion euros of longer term funding it promises. Greece also needs money fast from its IMF and EU lenders to meet hefty debt repayments due in December -- or face default, bankruptcy and the danger of leaving the euro zone.