The government was based on an alliance between ND and the Coalition of Forces of the Left and Progress (Synaspismos), which then included the Communist Party of Greece, with a mandate to conduct a clean-up ("katharsis") after the scandals.
The agreement was for a short-term government that would last only until the process of parliamentary investigation of those Members of Parliament accused of involvement in the scandals had been completed.
Tzannetakis was a compromise candidate for Prime Minister, given that the left refused to accept Mitsotakis in this role.
The formation of a government bringing together the Greek right and the communist left symbolized national reconciliation after the 1940s civil war.
One of the government's acts was to burn all the secret police files held on Greek citizens during the post-Civil War period.
In November an "ecumenical government", headed by Xenophon Zolotas, with the participation of all three political parties (New Democracy, PASOK, Synaspismos) was formed, again with an agreement for a short-term mandate to last until the election of the President of the Republic, due the following March.