Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Greek government struggles after bailout bombshell

Reuters
November 1, 2011

Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou faced calls from within his own party to step down on Tuesday after he threw the nation's euro zone membership into jeopardy by calling a referendum on a bailout package agreed only last week.

A leading lawmaker from Papandreou's socialist party quit while two others said Greece needed a government of national unity followed by snap elections, which the opposition also demanded.

The leaders of France and Germany scrambled to limit the damage to the wider euro zone, and European politicians expressed incredulity at an announcement that caught everyone by surprise -- including Papandreou's own finance minister.

"It's difficult to see what the referendum is going to be about. Do we want to be saved or not? Is that the question?" asked Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt.

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