The prime minister of Greece, Costas Simitis, has re-shuffled his cabinet and called a confidence vote in a bid to reinforce his leadership.

The move follows a poor showing by the prime ministers's Pasok party in local elections, following a fall in its popularity after the government introduced austerity measures to help Greece qualify for European monetary union.

The government has a clear majority of one-hundred-and-sixty-two in the three-hundred-seat parliament