Fresh from success in Sunday’s general election, Greece’s new Prime Minster Alexis Tsipras has chaired his first cabinet meeting – setting out the priorities for his anti-bailout government.

Firmly opposed to the austerity imposed on Greece by its EU and IMF creditors, he pledged to negotiate a viable and fair solution, confounding predictions of doom.

Referencing Greek mythology, he told ministers: “We will prove Cassandra is wrong. We won’t get into a mutually destructive clash but we will not continue a policy of catastrophe or subjection”.

He added that he expected a “productive” meeting on Friday with Jeroen Dijsselbloem, head of the euro zone finance ministers’ group.

The government would not default on its debts added Tsipras, whose left-wing Syriza party, short of an overall majority, has formed a coalition with another anti-austerity party, the right- wing Independent Greeks.

He said the government would pursue balanced budgets but would not seek to build up “unreali