Panos Cavoulacos, a UK based oil and gas specialist at energy consultancy Charles River Associates, offered his company’s services to Greece’s state controlled oil group soon after the conservative government took office last year. Shortly afterwards he was hired as Hellenic Petroleum’s chief executive.

Hellenic is listed on the Athens stock exchange and the state’s shareholding has been reduced to 35 per cent but the group is still one of several Greek public corporations the chairmen and chief executives of which are obliged to resign the moment that political power changes hands.