Saturday’s early morning vote capped an extraordinary week of uncertainty, in which top European leaders said for the first time that they would cast a country out of the euro zone if it failed to live up to its obligations, adding a potent new weapon to their tools for scaring nations into economic good behavior.
That move forced Greek politicians to unite around a biting austerity plan to get their country’s economy onto a sustainable track. Italy, too, announced Friday that it would allow the International Monetary Fund to come and watch its progress in reform, an unusual step.
But Greece’s political turmoil was not yet over. Papandreou’s move to create a unity government, which was forced by his own deputies, left open the question of who would run it. Moreover, the head of the main opposition party has said that he did not want to govern jointly with the ruling Socialists if Papandreou remains the leader.
Parliament will also have to approve the bailout plan, although that appears assured. That will clear the way for the $11 billion installment of bailout money that Greece needs to avoid default by mid-December.
“I don’t care if I’m not elected prime minister again,” Papandreou told Parliament before the vote. “The time has come for a new effort. A good-faith effort on a basis that will create trust.”
The timing of the formation of the government remains unclear, but several deputies said earlier Friday that they hoped Papandreou would step down within days, once he had resolved plans for his successors. He made no clear commitment to stepping down in his comments before the vote. Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos — one of Papandreou’s top rivals in the party, who has made moves to assert leadership in recent days — called for March elections.
Papandreou, 59, whose father and grandfather were also prime ministers of Greece, came to power in 2009 only to discover that the country’s finances were far shakier than his predecessors had acknowledged.
When he disclosed the bad news, he helped fuel the debt crisis that has shaken Europe for the last two years.
Greece’s own drama culminated this week, when Papandreou shocked world leaders by calling for a referendum on the tough bailout measures set last week, only to be forced to retreat after his own party abandoned him, fearing that he could spark a far worse crisis with the uncertainty.
In the end, all 152 Socialist deputies supported him in the confidence vote, along with another former Socialist.
Loading...
Comments