Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou will meet the opposition leader today after agreeing to step down to allow a national unity government to secure outside financing and avert a collapse of the country’s economy.
Papandreou and Antonis Samaras, leader of the main opposition party, agreed to form a government to lead Greece “to elections immediately after the implementation of European Council decisions on October 26,” according to an e-mailed statement yesterday from the office of President Karolos Papoulias in Athens. Papandreou already stated he won’t lead the new government, the statement said.
“If we take it to mean that Greece is making efforts to ensure that they continue to receive funding support from the euro zone, then the move is positive,” Sacha Tihanyi, a Hong Kong-based currency strategist at Scotia Capital, the investment banking unit of Bank of Nova Scotia, said today of the decision. “However, it would be much better to see sustained political stability out of the country.”
Both sides will meet again today to decide who will be the head of the new government, with a separate meeting to discuss the time frame and the government’s mandate, the statement said. Papoulias will also host talks with all political party leaders today. Feb. 19 is the “most appropriate” date to hold new elections, according to a statement yesterday from the Finance Ministry.
