After some bad news from Germany, some good news from Greece:

Greek Socialist leader George Papandreou has been sworn in as prime minister, two days after the former conservative government went down to defeat in snap elections.

Mr. Papandreou took the oath of office Tuesday in Athens during a brief ceremony presided over by the head of the Greek Orthodox Church, Archbishop Ieronymos, and President Karolos Papoulias.

Mr. Papandreou's Panhellenic Socialist Movement, PASOK, won 160 of 300 seats in parliamentary polls Sunday. Outgoing Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis resigned as head of his New Democracy Party after the defeat

Nouriel Roubini's website, RGE, has this list of recent important events in Greece:

Popular Discontent on the Rise

# A wave of extremism and lawlessness has gripped Greece since the beginning of 2009. Extremist groups have staged a series of petrol bomb attacks against banks, car dealerships and politicians’ offices in a campaign to undermine the government.

# Global Insight: "The terrorist attacks are likely to continue with a centrist cabinet; the terrorist groups are decrying the perceived "capitalist" measures of the government and business-friendly organizations alike. If the next government is going to boost investment, it will need to form a pact with those bodies that the terrorist groups despise."

# August 2009: A huge wildfire that spread in the region of Athens in August 2009, put more pressure on the government. Prime Minister Karamanlis was widely blamed for his handling of the fires two years ago and this year's emergency prompted renewed criticism.

# April 2009: Greek trade unions staged a national strike in protest against a public sector pay freeze and rising job losses in the private sector, disrupting transport and shutting down services.

# February 2009: Greek riot police clashed with hundreds of farmers demanding higher subsidies and pensions and lower fuel taxes. Protesting farmers had caused 11 days of travel chaos in Jan by setting roadblocks across the country and blocking border crossings with Bulgaria, Turkey and Macedonia.

# January 2009: In a bid to boost his government's popularity, PM Karamanlis replaced nine of his 16 cabinet members, including the finance minister who had carried out spending cuts and privatizations.

# December 2008: Violent protests broke out across the country over the police killing of a teenager but fueled by the government's unpopular austerity measures.