November 3, 2011
Greece's teetering government backed away from a proposed referendum on staying in the euro on Thursday, while European leaders talked for the first time of a possible Greek exit to preserve the single currency.
Fast-moving events in Athens overshadowed the first day of a summit of the Group of 20 major economies on the French Riviera, with world leaders again anxiously urging Europe to act to stop contagion from its sovereign debt crisis.
They discussed increasing the International Monetary Fund's resources to help distressed states and constructing a financial firewall to protect vulnerable euro zone economies Italy and Spain from a possible Greek default, participants said.
In Athens, beleaguered Prime Minister George Papandreou said his call this week for a referendum, which sparked panic on global financial markets, "was never a purpose in itself," and he would be happy if the vote were not held.
Papandreou told lawmakers from his Socialist party he had agreed to talks with the center-right opposition on a transitional government to implement a new EU/IMF bailout program. If that led to a consensus in support of the plan, there would be no need for a referendum.
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