The Star Online: World Updates
The Star Online: World Updates |
- Papandreou wins vote, Greece still faces uncertainty
- EXCLUSIVE - Greek finance minister plans to forge coalition: sources
- Greek PM to meet President on coalition talks Saturday
| Papandreou wins vote, Greece still faces uncertainty Posted: ATHENS (Reuters) - Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou survived a parliamentary confidence vote on Saturday, avoiding snap elections which would have torpedoed Greece's debt crisis bailout deal and inflamed the euro zone's economic crisis.
But the nation remained mired in political, social and economic turmoil and Papandreou signalled he would stand down, calling for a new coalition to ram the 130-billion-euro bailout deal through parliament and avoid the nation going bankrupt. Papandreou's socialist government won with 153 votes in the 300 member parliament, and a rebellion by some dissidents in his PASOK party failed to materialise after he indicated that his term as prime minister was close to an end. "The last thing I care about is my post. I don't care even if I am not re-elected. The time has come to make a new effort ... I never thought of politics as a profession," he told parliament before the vote. Papandreou said the new coalition government should secure the approval of the euro zone bailout deal, the nation's last financial lifeline, which is also the euro zone's central plank to prevent economic crisis devastating the bloc's bigger economies. The leaders of France and Germany told Papandreou earlier this week that Greece would not get one more cent of EU aid if it failed to approve the bailout, meaning that the state would run out of money in December. Papandreou told parliament that he would go to the Greek president on Saturday to discuss formation of a broader-based government that would secure the euro zone bailout, adding that he was willing to discuss who would head a new administration. The meeting will take place at noon (1000 GMT). NO RAPID ELECTIONS Papandreou dismissed demands for rapid elections as championed by the opposition. "Elections at this moment not only equal disaster but could not take place in the best interest of the people," he said. "There is one solution. To support the (EU bailout) deal with a multiparty approach, without elections, with a strong government." Greece has been racked by torment since soon after Papandreou won power in 2009 and revealed that the real budget deficit was three times bigger than original estimates put out by his conservative predecessor. International investors took fright, Greece's borrowing costs soared and Papandreou was forced to go cap in hand last year to the only bodies still wiling to lend at affordable rates -- the European Union and IMF. In return they demanded wave after wave of spending cuts, tax rises and pension cuts which provoked widespread protests on the streets on Greek cities, with bloody clashes between demonstrators and riot police in Athens. On financial markets, analysts said Papandreou's victory had been Pyrrhic, and many ordinary Greeks said they were disenchanted with Byzantine political wrangling that was not addressing their basic shortage of jobs and cash. "Even though he has won the vote, he engaged in a game of brinkmanship ... All that means to me is that his days in power are numbered," said Jurgen Odenius at Prudential Fixed Income, in Newark, New Jersey. "At least, though, the worst has been avoided, where no new government was formed and Greece gets pushed into default. So at least we're back to where we were before." Sources said Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos has won the backing of leaders of some smaller parties to support a new coalition that he would head. The new government would call early elections in a few months after the bailout had been secured, sources close to the deal told Reuters. The leaders of the far-right LAOS party and another centre-right party indicated after Papandreou's speech that they would cooperate in a new coalition. In parliament, Venizelos said a new government should rule until next February and then call elections. Opposition leader Antonis Samaras counted his New Democracy party out of the coalition, saying Papandreou had spurned his call for a national unity government. "Mr Papandreou rejected our proposal. The only solution is elections," he said. Papandreou provoked uproar at home and abroad on Monday when he announced a referendum on the bailout, agreed by euro zone leaders only last week. Under heavy domestic and international pressure, he backed down on a vote which could well have rejected the deal, potentially sinking euro zone leaders' attempts to stop the debt crisis devastating economies such as Italy and Spain. The government officially announced earlier on Friday that the referendum would not go ahead. (Additional reporting by Reuters Athens bureau; Writing by David Stamp) Copyright © 2011 Reuters Full content generated by Get Full RSS. | ||
| EXCLUSIVE - Greek finance minister plans to forge coalition: sources Posted: ATHENS (Reuters) - Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou has struck a deal to stand down and let Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos form a coalition government aimed at winning parliamentary approval for Greece's latest bailout, sources close to the deal told Reuters on Friday.
Forming a coalition would avoid the risk of immediate snap elections that would push Greece closer to a default on its debts and would give Athens breathing space to approve the bailout to receive a vital sixth tranche of aid from lenders. The sources said Venizelos had won the backing of leaders of some smaller parties to support the coalition before calling early elections in a few months. They stressed that the deal was conditional on Papandreou confirming he would stand down when he speaks in parliament on Friday before a confidence vote on his socialist government. "There is some concern that Papandreou may change his mind at the last minute and all eyes are on his speech in parliament," one source said, requesting anonymity. The new government would probably exclude the main opposition conservative New Democracy party, the sources said. Venizelos, a member of the ruling PASOK socialist party, would be prime minister of the new coalition government and it was not clear whether other parties would be given portfolios. Papandreou provoked uproar at home and abroad on Monday when he announced a referendum on the 130 billion euro bailout, agreed by euro zone leaders only last week. Under heavy domestic and international pressure, he backed down on a popular vote which could well have rejected the deal, cutting off Greece's last financial lifeline and potentially sinking euro zone leaders' attempts to stop the debt crisis spreading to bigger economies such as Italy and Spain. The government officially announced earlier on Friday that the referendum would not go ahead. The conservative New Democracy party had proposed a national unity government with the sole aim of forcing the bailout through parliament before early elections. Venizelos, an ambitious and powerful Socialist who is leading talks with the EU, the IMF and banks on the country's bailout and debt swap deals, had broken ranks with Papandreou over the referendum and argued it was not what Greece needed. Greece is due a vital 8 billion euros aid instalment this month, but exasperated European leaders have warned the country will not receive any more aid until it votes to meet its commitments to the euro zone. Venizelos had been kept in the dark by Papandreou on the plan to announce a referendum, a Greek government official has said. Papandreou is expected to scrape through the confidence vote, but analysts say it could go down to the wire. PASOK has 152 deputies in the 300-member parliament. One lawmaker said on Thursday she would not back the government in the confidence vote, but on Friday softened her line. The vote comes against a backdrop of growing anger in Greece over a bitter austerity bill of higher taxes and pay cuts while the country struggles through a fourth year of recession. Exasperated Greeks who blame a corrupt political elite for the crisis have held frequent protests and strikes. (Reporting by Dina Kyriakidou; editing by David Stamp) Copyright © 2011 Reuters Full content generated by Get Full RSS. | ||
| Greek PM to meet President on coalition talks Saturday Posted:
ATHENS (Reuters) - Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou will meet the country's President later on Saturday to kickstart talks to form a coalition government with opposition parties, the PM's office said in a statement. "Prime Minister George Papandreou will be received tomorrow at 12.00 (1000 GMT) by the President of the Republic Karolos Papoulias," the PM's office said in a statement, shortly after Papandreou won a parliamentary vote of confidence. (Reporting by Harry Papachristou) Copyright © 2011 Reuters Full content generated by Get Full RSS. |
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