In a conservative victory which was expected but surprising in its size, Costas Karamanlis led his New Democracy Party to a sweeping general election victory on Sunday.

Karamanlis, 48 this year, and the nephew of a former prime minister of Greece, has said he will work to bring foreign investment to Greece and step up privatisation of state firms.

Analysts said the clear victory strengthened his hand in a likely stand-off with traditionally hostile unions who support the socialists.

Karamanlis wasted no time in getting down to business and before making his victory speech, he met Athens Olympics chief organiser Gianna Angelopoulos, herself a former conservative parliamentarian, to plot strategy to get stalled work up to speed on the August Games.

?We must make the best efforts so the Olympic Games are the best and safest ever held. It is a great opportunity for Greece to show its modern face,? he told cheering supporters.

Karamanlis, a US-educated lawyer, takes power just five months before the Olympics, a massive security and logistical operation for which preparations are behind schedule.

It also faces a major foreign policy challenge in brokering a deal with Turkey to help reunite Greek and Turkish Cypriots before the island joins the EU in May.

Karamanlis, the first modern Greek prime minister aged under 50, won the battle of the political dynasties sending socialist leader George Papandreou into opposition.

<B>Message of change </B>

Papandreou, son and grandson of former prime ministers, entered the fray late in a desperate bid by the socialists to use their popular foreign minister to claw back a conservatives opinion poll lead of up to seven percent when the election was announced in January. But policy blunders caught up with Socialist PASOK, Greek dailies reported on Monday.

?It was a punishing vote for the mistakes of the past four years,? the daily Ta Nea said on its front page. Weaknesses in education and health policies, and a fumbled attempt at pension reform were among its shortcomings, it reported.

The left-wing daily Avriani was stinging in its criticism of the PASOK defeat.

?These are the grave-diggers? it proclaimed above pictures of outgoing premier Costas Simitis, finance minister Nikos Christodoulakis and his deputy Christos Pachtas. The latter was forced to quit early this year in a property development scandal.

Karamanlis described the victory as a ?a new policy in a new era? and vowed younger leaders like himself would be in the cabinet he is expected to announce later yesterday.

Newspapers speculated that Karamanlis would appoint career diplomat Petros Moliviatis to the foreign ministry and George Alogoskoufis to the ministry of finance. Dimitris Avramopoulos, a former mayor of Athens, was tipped to be Culture Minister, a portfolio responsible for overseeing Olympic preparations.

Brian Williams