Ruling party lawmakers urged Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou to step aside and allow the formation of a new government that can approve a European Union aid package needed to avert default.
Odysseas Vodouris, a deputy in the Pasok party, said a confidence vote tonight signaled the end of Papandreou’s administration and colleague Vasso Papandreou said the motion would support the formation of an administration of national consensus. Lawmakers will later start a roll call televised on state-run Vouli TV with results expected at midnight in Athens.
“It is a paradox for the Parliament to be giving a vote of confidence to a government and its head which has lost the confidence of Greek society and the international community,” Vodouris said in a faxed statement. “An exit from the crisis demands a government of national responsibility headed by a person widely accepted by all.”
Should Papandreou, 59, win the vote, his options this weekend include handing over power to the unity government or fighting on. Papandreou’s inability to resolve the political gridlock pushes the country closer to the first default by an EU nation even as his scrapping of a referendum averted potential ejection from the 17-member euro region.
