Peru's embattled President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski on Tuesday swore in a new "cabinet of reconciliation" just weeks after his divisive decision to pardon former strongman Alberto Fujimori, according to dpa. Kuczynski ally Mercedes Araoz remained prime minister, according to a report from Andina, Peru's government-owned news agency. Nine new appointments include former energy minister Cayetana Aljovin as foreign minister. Novelist Alejandro Neyra was given the culture portfolio and retired general Jorge Kisic was appointed defence minister. Former Amazonas governor Jose Arista replaced agriculture minister Jose Manuel Hernandez. Kuczynski's appeal to opposition representatives to join the cabinet fell on deaf ears. The conservative Aprist Party said it would expel its members Javier Barreda and Abel Salinas after they accepted the labour and health portfolios respectively. On Monday, Hernandez became the fourth member of Kuczynski's previous cabinet to resign since the president was accused of hiding his business relations with corrupt Brazilian construction giant Odebrecht. Analysts have also linked some of the resignations with Kuczynski's decision in late December to pardon Fujimori, who was serving a 25-year sentence for human rights violations. Critics say the pardon was based on a deal between Kuczynski and the Fujimorist main opposition party Popular Force, which allowed the president to survive impeachment proceedings over his Odebrecht links two days earlier. The opposition party has a majority in parliament, and said Monday it would not support a new attempt to impeach Kuczynski launched by the leftist Broad Front.
