希腊新总理萨马拉斯宣誓就职

Antonis Samaras has vowed to "give hope" to the Greek people, moments after being sworn in as prime minister.

安东尼斯·萨马拉斯宣誓成为希腊新总理，随后他立誓会给希腊人民“希望”。

His party, New Democracy, has forged a coalition with the Socialists (Pasok) and the smaller Democratic Left.

The deal ends weeks of uncertainty in Greece. An inconclusive election on 6 May raised fears Greece could leave the eurozone and trigger a wider crisis.

But the new coalition is expected to face immediate pressure from an austerity-weary Greek public.

They have endured five years of recession and are increasingly resistant to the tough terms of Greece's huge bailout from the EU and International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Syriza - the leftist party that came second in Sunday's poll and strongly opposes the austerity measures - will be a defiant voice of opposition, correspondents say.

Greek stocks rose moderately in response to the news that a coalition had been formed, with Athens shares closing up 0.5%.

'Burden of responsibility'

Mr Samaras became Greece's fourth prime minister in eight months at a brief ceremony at the presidential palace in Athens.

In his first public words following his swearing in, he asked the Greek people for "patriotism and strong national unity and trust, [so] that with the help of God, we'll do whatever we can for the people to come out of this crisis".

The 61-year-old said he would demand "hard work" from the new government "so that it will be able to give hope to our people".

The three coalition party leaders later met outgoing Finance Minister Giorgos Zanias. The meeting was attended by the man tipped to be his successor, National Bank chairman Vassilis Rapanos.

More detail on the cabinet make-up is also expected to emerge before Thursday, when Mr Zanias will represent the new government at a meeting of eurozone finance ministers in Luxembourg.

Earlier, announcing the coalition deal, Pasok leader Evangelos Venizelos said the three parties in the new coalition had "taken on the burden of responsibility to renegotiate the bailout agreement and [the job] of exiting Greece from the crisis".

Democratic Left leader Fotis Kouvelis said he expected the cabinet to "release the country from the painful terms" of the bailout.