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Jury is still out on Toledo's changes to Peru government

Peru's President Alejandro To-ledo swore in a new Cabinet on Monday but the jury was still out on whether the changes to his government would be enough to restore his credibility and stave off the threat of early elections.

After a week of consultations with political, business and union leaders, Toledo brought in seven independent figures to breathe fresh life into his two-and-a-half-year-old government in a bid to resurrect his popularity -- currently at just 7 percent.

The centerpiece of the team is Wall Street darling Pedro Pablo Kuczynski as economy minister, a post he occupied in Toledo's first Cabinet from 2001 to 2002.

Lourdes Flores, leader of the opposition Unidad Nacional party, called the Cabinet "a final opportunity that we hope won't be thrown away."

Toledo's woes were brought to a head by a run of corruption scandals since November that ousted four ministers and the vice president, as well as a recording of a presidential adviser discussing bribing judges with a member of the state-sponsored corruption network that flourished in Peru in the 1990s.

Polls show Peruvians are fed up of hearing what they see as hollow promises of job creation while the country's 4 percent economic growth does nothing to improve their lot.

"We know the social demands are urgent, but we also know that you can't do everything at once, or overnight," Prime Minister Carlos Ferrero told a news conference after the swearing-in ceremony.

Many opposition lawmakers and Peruvians reckon Toledo's problems are beyond repair and early elections are the only answer.

"No one can restore credibility to Toledo," said Christian Martel, 24, as he distributed newspapers on his bicycle.

Giovanna Rodriguez, a 25-year-old housewife, was uncertain. "We'll have to wait and see. I think Toledo is capable, he promises to change, we'll have to see," she said.

Kuczynski, a blunt-talking fund manager seen as a safe pair of hands for Peru's US$60 billion economy, said he had to have his arm twisted to return to government, but had done so in a bid to ensure the constitutional order was maintained.

"I'm prepared to do this for a time," he told local radio, adding that economically "this could be a very good year."

Kuczynski has already made plain his dislike of a controversial tax on bank transactions due to take effect next month. The government says it is vital to fund teachers' pay rises but Kuczynski said he would discuss changes to the rate.

Kuczynski supports privatization -- a thorny subject since the government was forced to slam the brakes on its ambitious privatization program in 2002 after massive protests.

Alfredo Torres, head of pollster Apoyo, said Kuczynski would have his work cut out to win support from the poorest in Peru who see him as a "gringo" businessman. They voted for Toledo as a man of the people, but are now among his sternest critics because they feel he has failed them.
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