Tuesday, November 8, 2011

Greeks await new PM announcement


Greek leaders are due to agree the name of a new prime minister to lead a unity government until fresh polls are held.

The deal came after Prime Minister George Papandreou agreed to stand down.

It followed days of upheaval caused by his decision - now revoked - to hold a referendum on the EU bailout plan to tackle Greece's debt crisis.

The names of Lukas Papademos, a former deputy president of the European Central Bank, and Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos have been floated.

The coalition is due to lead the country until elections, which could be held on 19 February, the finance ministry said.

Once the new leader is named, President Karolos Papoulias will invite parties to join the new government, according to a statement from the president's office issued on Sunday evening.

Papoulias announced the agreement after hosting talks between Papandreou and main opposition leader, Antonis Samaras.

Greece is beginning a new political era - the imminent end of George Papandreou's premiership and the start of a new coalition government. Papandreou has been prime minister of this country since 2009, he was the third member of his family to be in charge. It is the end of a long political dynasty as Greece waits to hear who will take charge of a country mired in perhaps the deepest crisis in its history.

The frontrunner to take over from George Papandreou is Lucas Papademos, the former governor of the National Bank of Greece and a former deputy at the European Central Bank. While he was at the national bank he negotiated Greece's transition from the drachma to the euro - he will be hoping that if he does take over that that will be a one-way street, that he will not face an inglorious exit of Greece from the eurozone.

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