Papandreou’s Government Survives Confidence Vote; New Coalition Gov’t To Be Formed

Step one of Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou’s plan to ensure that Greece qualifies to receive bailout loans from the troika of the EU, the ECB, and the IMF has been accomplished. After debating late into the night, Papandreou’s government won a confidence vote by the slimmest of margins that will allow the embattled PM to move on to steps two and three: forming a new government and ratifying the EU bailout package.

After procuring support from smaller opposition camps, Papandreou’s Pasok socialist party won the confidence vote early Saturday morning by a tally of 153 to 145.

Papandreou now moves on to the task of forming a new coalition government, whose primary goal, according to reports this week, is to ratify the EU bailout deal. The PM met with Greek President Karolos Papoulias on Saturday to begin the process.

As to the PM’s role, part of the accord to secure the confidence vote involves Papandreou stepping down. As to the PM’s involvement with forming a new coalition government, Papandreou told the press that he plans to contribute “definitively to creating a government of wider cooperation with the main goal of guiding legislation and anything else related to the history Oct 26 agreement” with international bondholders.

Reuters reports that in a meeting with Greek President Papoulias Saturday, Papandreou said that the nation had to forge a political consensus to prove it wanted to keep the euro. "In order to create this wider cooperation, we will start the necessary procedures and contacts soon," Papandreou said.

Papandreou also said Saturday that he will call a meeting of ministers tomorrow after talks today with Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos. Venizelos is the said to have been instrumental in gathering enough support to win the confidence vote and is widely expected to lead the new coalition government.

Venizelos told the public on Saturday, “The country risks losing its autonomy, its level of life and the international context is becoming more stifling every day. Society must at last be able to breathe and on Monday, the country must be represented in a credible and reliable way at the Eurogroup.”

In order to satisfy the political opposition, the new government is not expected to be in power long. Reports indicate that early elections will be held once the EU bailout deal has been secured.

It remains unclear as to exactly when PM Papandreou would step down.

 

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