November 5, 2011
Prime Minister George Papandreou won a confidence vote after offering to form a government of national unity that may lead to him stepping down as he sought to reach an accord on European aid needed to avert default.
The premier said he’ll meet with President Karolos Papoulias to discuss his proposal to create a unity government. Main opposition leader Antonis Samaras rejected the offer and called for elections.
“I ask for a vote of confidence tonight so that we can secure the course of this country,” Papandreou said. “I have already communicated with the president of the republic to inform him that I intend to proceed with consultations for a government of cooperation.”
Papandreou’s offer caps a tumultuous week that started with him securing a second bailout from the European Union then roiling markets by unilaterally deciding to put the terms of that rescue to the Greek people in a vote. The premier must heal political divisions to secure agreement on the aid package before Greece runs out of funds next month.
“Papandreou, by bringing things to a head, has basically, without expecting this to happen, sacrificed his own political career,” Sassan Ghahramani, Chief Executive Officer of SGH Macro Advisors, said on Bloomberg Television’s “Street Smart.” “The price for that has been that the opposition party is now willing to cooperate with a transitional government if it comes into place and show a more united front towards the EU and IMF.”
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