Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou met with the president on Saturday and promised consultations on a coalition government to ratify a crucial 130-billion euro bailout deal for the indebted euro zone country.
“The required work and consultations will begin soon,” Papandreou said following his meeting with President Carolos Papoulias.
Papandreou, whose four-year term formally expires in 2013, survived a confidence vote earlier on Saturday. The vote was held shortly after he shocked euro zone nations with a decision to call a referendum on the EU and IMF bailout deal agreed a week earlier.
The premier abandoned the idea of the referendum under pressure from Germany and France on Friday.
Papandreou said the coalition government with the ruling center-left party would work to ratify the agreement with the EU signed on October 26-27 to write off part of the Greek debt in exchange for an austerity reform program. The program earlier aroused protests among Greeks unhappy with tax hikes, job cuts and pension problems.
“If we want to stay in the euro zone, we have to vote for this program and the actions laid down in the agreement of October 26,” Papandreou said.
After Papandreou’s surprise announcement of a possible referendum, the opposition said it would not join the coalition government and demanded snap elections.
Papandreou said elections in the current financially unhealthy situation would only aggravate the crisis. The sides eventually agreed on a coalition government as a temporary solution.
