Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis appears ready to give in to pressure from some of his closest aides and conduct a Cabinet reshuffle within a few weeks in the hope of boosting his flagging government, sources told Sunday’s Kathimerini.

The shake-up is likely to take place before Christmas and will involve several new faces becoming part of the Cabinet while some current ministers may also be moved to different departments.

An injection of new blood into the government is seen as vital in the wake of several corruption allegations that have tainted the ruling conservatives in recent weeks. The alleged scandals have led to some high-profile resignations, notably that of former deputy economy and finance minister Adam Regouzas last month.

A survey conducted by polling company Rass which was published yesterday put New Democracy 2.4 percent ahead of Socialist rivals PASOK. Worryingly for the premier, the same poll found 37.9 percent of those questioned said that of the two big parties, ND had closer ties with vested interests; 38.1 percent pointed to PASOK.

The reshuffle could see Athens Mayor Dora Bakoyiannis enter the Cabinet, but Karamanlis seems certain to keep key aides such as Economy and Finance Minister Giorgos Alogoskoufis and Interior Minister Prokopis Pavlopoulos in their current positions.