(Image Source: BBC)

BY BLAKE HANSON

He’s a banker -- not a politician. That’s how many news outlets are labeling newly selected interim Greek Prime Minister Lucas Papademos. The LA Times has his background...

“After days of haggling, Greece's two main political parties agreed Thursday on the appointment of Lucas Papademos, a trained economist and former governor of the Greek central bank, to serve as the financially troubled country's new leader through the next few months.”

Papademos was also Vice President of the European Central Bank. He takes over for Prime Minister George Papandreau -- who agreed to step down on Sunday. A reporter for Bloomberg says the cross-party cooperation is just what Greek voters ordered.

“According to polls, the Greek people wanted, the majority of Greek people wanted the parties to work together, also polls showed that a majority of Greeks don’t want to leave the Euro.”

“If they see Papademos come in and show, project a semblance of stability in the political politics of Greece for the next few months, it could, could, make things easier for him.”

But The Globe and Mail’s Graeme Smith sports a different view of Papademos, saying...

“The chatter in Greece on social media sites suggested less enthusiasm; many ordinary people feel as though the government's creditors have taken away some of their sovereignty. ‘Putting a banker in charge of a bankrupt country is like putting a drug dealer in charge of a drug rehab center,’ said one post on Twitter.”

Regardless---Papademos’ take-over had a positive impact when U.S. markets opened later in the day. CNBC’s Brian Schactman talks with Morning Joe.

“A new Greek Prime Minister, Lucas Papademos is the name you now need to know, and that jobless number and now all of a sudden people are in the stock market buying. It’s just a bit of a head scratcher in these markets right now but right now we’re looking at a positive open.”

So where does Papademos seizing control fit in with Greeks’ move toward a “national unity” government? The Wall Street Journal skeptically outlines what’s next...

“According to the plan –and here we ought to exercise caution, as things haven’t always gone ‘according to plan’ in Athens- the new government is to be sworn in at the presidential palace Friday... After the new government is sworn in, the formal process of approving it begins ... newly-sworn in ministers will be able to put together what in Greece is called ‘policy declarations’, i.e. the plan of what they are going to do after they officially become government.”

The Wall Street Journal says once the plan is ready, Greece’s single chamber parliament and 300 deputies will begin the process of giving a vote of confidence to the new government. Then at least three days of debate ensue before a vote of confidence is held.