Greece Will Form Coalition Government


Antonis Samara leads New Democracy  
 


08 November 2011

(ATHENS) -- Greek officials will announce the make-up of the interim government on Wednesday. Prime Minister George Papandreou and Antonis Samaras have been in negotiations since Monday. Samaras is the leader of New Democracy, the largest opposition party. The following names could be possible candidates to lead the new government: Lucas Papademos, a former vice-president of the European Central Bank, Nikiforos Diamandouros, Greece's European ombudsman, and Panagiotis Roumeliotis, Greece's representative to the International Monetary Fund. Greece is set to run out of money within weeks. Jean-Claude Juncker, the Eurozone chief, wants the leaders of the two main parties in Greece to sign an agreement committing to the previously agreed upon reforms.

Comment – Turbulence within the government has been apparent. The second loan tranche continues to be the source of much debate. Some members of the ruling party have resigned. Citizens of Greece held strikes across Greece in past week to show their displeasure of the impending austerity measures. PM Papandreou survived a vote of confidence after announcing he would put the fate of the bailout into the hands of the citizens by issuing a referendum. Though he survived the confidence vote, he agreed to step down and form a coalition government. The motivation behind Papandreou’s actions is unknown. It is somewhat likely he could be making political maneuvers to ensure the next bailout payment for Greece goes ahead.

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