ATHENS – Although polls show him riding high for his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic – despite fire from rival parties – Prime Minister and New Democracy leader Kyriakos Mitsotakis is said to be looking at shuffling his Cabinet.

That would mean moving around ministers and replacing some, a frequent occurrence in Greek governments, with some holding positions for which they have no technical expertise but political background, the key jobs being appointments for loyalty.

New Democracy had a 17 point lead over its major rival the now SYRIZA Progressive Alliance, which rebranded itself from The Radical Left after taking a beating in July 7, 2019 snap polls after reneging on anti-austerity promises and bowing to international lenders during its 4 1/2-year anti-business reign.

Sources not named told Kathimerini that Mitsotakis nevertheless wants to stir up his Cabinet once a second wave of the pandemic is brought under control but a second lockdown still in place until at least Dec. 7 and likely longer.

The paper said that four ministries it didn't name were lacking in performance and that Mitsotakis wants to take the party more toward the center-right as he's been trying to mollify disparate elements jockeying for power.