Senior civil-service jobs were advertised online in a bid to boost transparency but, because of a lack of suitable applicants, the government fell back on the familiar habit of appointing party loyalists.

ECONOMIST: Greece's budget crisis

Indeed, he has already tried to mollify the party by appointing two of its members to the cabinet.

ECONOMIST: Suck it and see

Then he allowed himself to be arm-twisted by the party into appointing Koko Sato, a convicted bribe-taker, to his cabinet.

ECONOMIST: Japan

He then embarrassed his own party's new figurehead leader, Mathias Reichhold, by appointing extremists to key posts in the party and by flying off to Baghdad.

ECONOMIST: Austria's general election

George W. Bush perhaps set the precedent of appointing his chief rival within the Republican party, Colin Powell, to secretary of state as a way to secure the shrewd general's skills and to politically neutralize him.

CNN: Commentary: Clinton pick would be brilliant, but risky, move