Greece: Alexis Tsipras Visits War Memorial

The leader of Greece's left-wing anti-bailout Syriza party has laid flowers at a World War Two memorial in Athens as his first act after being sworn in as Prime Minister.

Alexis Tsipras was formally appointed Greece's youngest prime minister at a secular ceremony in the capital on Monday.

As an atheist, he becomes the first prime minister to be sworn in without the traditional oath and blessing of basil and water from the Greek Archbishop.

Footage has emerged of the 40-year-old laying red roses at the National Resistance Memorial in the Athens suburb of Kaisariani.

The site, a former rifle range, was where the Nazis executed 200 Greek communist resistance fighters on 1 May, 1944.

The gesture, which is likely to be seen as symbolic given Syriza's firm anti-austerity platform will put it into conflict with European lenders including Germany, was watched by dozens of supporters.

Mr Tsipras has agreed to form a governing coalition with the right-wing Nationalist Independent Greeks party after his party fell just two seats short of an outright majority in the Greek parliament.

The unusual pairing of parties from opposite ends of the political spectrum, but with a shared drive to reverse painful austerity measures, raises the prospect of a stand-off with European creditors.

In his victory speech Mr Tsipras​ vowed Greece would abandon the "catastrophic austerity" measures imposed under the EU-IMF deal.

He has also promised to renegotiate the repayment terms of Greece's €240bn (£179bn) international bailout.

"Greece leaves behinds catastrophic austerity, it leaves behind fear and authoritarianism, it leaves behind five years of humiliation and anguish," Mr Tsipras told thousands of supporters in Athens.

Syriza's policies have prompted a firm response from Greece's international lenders, including economic powerhouse Germany.

A spokesman for the German Chancellor said Angela Merkel still expects Greece to stand by its commitments to its creditors.

"The Greeks have the right to vote for whom they want. We have the right to no longer finance Greek debt," said German minister Hans-Peter Friedrich.

Jeroen Dijsselbloem, head of the Eurogroup made up of the eurozone's 19 finance ministers, said Greece's eurozone membership depended on it complying with its agreements.

Financial markets slumped early on Monday, but recovered ground to largely post gains in the wake of the election.

The FTSE closed at 6,852, up 19 points, while the Nasdaq was trading up marginally during the afternoon. The Athens Stock Exchange saw a drop of 9.4%, with the country's top four banks losing a combined market value of €2.7bn.

On the currency markets, the euro was flat at $1.1264 while it was trading up at 74.7p against the pound.

It is feared that plans to renegotiate the terms of the bailout will not only plunge Greece further into financial crisis, but will embolden other anti-austerity movements in Europe.

Many in Europe have lined up to congratulate Syriza, hailing its win as a "big slap in the face" for Europe.

Prime Minister David Cameron and Chancellor George Osborne, meanwhile, have warned of the threat an unstable Greece could pose Britain and the rest of Europe.

Syriza won 149 seats in the 300-seat parliament in Sunday's vote.

It had an 8.5-point lead over the ruling conservative New Democracy party of outgoing Prime Minister Antonis Samaras.

Mr Tsipras used his first post-election tweet to respond to a congratulations message from British actor and comedian Hugh Laurie.

"Thank you Dr", he replied, in a reference to Laurie's role in the US television series House.