If history is anything to go by, he will delegate economic policy to technocrats, and focus his own energies on tackling insecurity and reducing corruption in government.
He accepted further negotiations would be needed between Greek finance experts and the troika of technocrats from the International Monetary Fund, the European commission and the European Central Bank which has policed the Greek bailout and dictated Athens fiscal policy for the past five years.
Houliarakis has been involved in much of the talks with the so-called "Brussels Group" of financial technocrats doing the spadework on the conditions for resuming lending to Greece.
The new cabinet comprises a range of technocrats, mainly promoted from within the ranks.
Well, almost: he has retreated from his hope of a cabinet stacked with independent technocrats.
Several officials in their 60s with experience as technocrats and in the military and intelligence services also seem to be in the running.This guessing game says a lot about Mr Mubarak's Egypt, where much of the regime and its workings remains opaque.
The president's team of capable technocrats expects the economy to start growing again this year, perhaps by 1.5%.
He has five weeks to appoint a government, which is to consist mainly of technocrats rather than party people.Elections for the Palestinian presidency and parliament should follow no earlier than six months after a government takes office.
See articleA united frontThe Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, named a cabinet of technocrats that has been endorsed by both main Palestinian groups, his own secular-minded Fatah and the Islamists of Hamas.
Mr Urresti has helped to push up the president's approval rating by behaving as a hyperactive police chief, forever seeking headlines even as crime worsens.At the same time Mr Humala has appointed a core of capable technocrats to run socio-economic policies.
French presidents blame technocrats in Brussels for the same problem.
