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    November 05, 2011

Greek Leaders in Talks to Form Coalition Government

   VOA News
   Greece's President Karolos Papoulias (R) welcomes Prime Minister George
   Papandreou at his office inside the Presidential Palace in Athens,
   November 5, 2011.
   Photo: Reuters
   Greece's President Karolos Papoulias (R) welcomes Prime Minister George
   Papandreou at his office inside the Presidential Palace in Athens,
   November 5, 2011.

   Just hours after surviving a no-confidence vote in parliament, Greek
   Prime Minister George Papandreou opened talks Saturday with President
   Carolos Papoulias on forming a coalition government to secure continued
   bailout funds.
   Papandreou won the vote after saying he was willing to discuss a
   power-sharing government to approve a bailout deal vital for saving the
   country from bankruptcy and stabilizing the eurozone.
   It is not clear if the main opposition conservatives and other parties
   will take part in the talks and drop a demand for snap general
   elections.
   Papandreou has warned calling for early elections would be disastrous.
   Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos said Friday the country
   desperately needs the next $11 billion installment of its existing $150
   billion bailout. European leaders and the International Monetary Fund
   have said Greece would not get another cent if it backs out of its
   bailout agreement.
   On Thursday, Papandreou scrapped a controversial referendum on the
   bailout that had angered world leaders trying to formulate the eurozone
   rescue plan.
   The prime minister faced enormous international pressure to call off
   the referendum. He said the vote was a political move to get Greek
   opposition to support the bailout plan. He scrapped the referendum plan
   after the opposition lawmakers said they would support the bailout.
   Greek opposition leader Antonis Samaras has demanded Papandreou's
   resignation, saying he had jeopardized Greece's world financial
   standing by calling for the referendum.
   Samaras also called for the creation of a transitional government to
   prepare for early elections.

   Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.

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