November 1, 2011
Greece will proceed with a referendum on the European Union’s financing package and Prime Minister George Papandreou will win a vote of confidence in Parliament this week, government spokesman Angelos Tolkas said.
Tolkas said that Papandreou is currently discussing both votes with his Cabinet in Athens. Greek Health Minister Andreas Loverdos and two other members of Papandreou’s Cabinet planned to tell the premier to drop the plan for the referendum, Proto Thema newspaper reported earlier, without saying how it got the information.
“We’re not retreating and we haven’t retreated on all the things we needed to do to save the country,” Tolkas said in an interview on state-run ERT3 TV today. “As the prime minister said to his lawmakers yesterday, this is how we’re proceeding and these are our next steps.”
Papandreou’s grip on power has weakened amid a lawmaker rebellion after his decision to put the bailout plan to a referendum. One, Milena Apostolaki, said she will defect from Papandreou’s socialist Pasok party, leaving him with 152 deputies in the 300-seat chamber.
Another four lawmakers have criticised the plans for the referendum, stopping short of defection, and six members of the party called on the premier to resign in a joint letter, Athens News Agency said today. Other deputies have called for a national unity government.
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