Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou won a nail-biting confidence vote in parliament early Saturday after vowing to start talks to form a government of national unity in the crisis-hit country.
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| Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou greets members of parliament at the end of his speech during a debate on the confidence vote at the Greek Parliament in Athens. |
Papandreou carried the vote, watched nervously by financial markets and fellow European leaders, despite a razor-thin majority for his socialist party and a rebellion within the ranks.
A total of 153 deputies among 298 present approved the motion, the parliament speaker said to sustained applause within the chamber.
The result hung in the balance amid unbearable tension as each MP voted in favour or against the motion, with the "yes" and "no" camp neck-and-neck right to the end.
The vote makes it more likely Greece will be able to implement the terms of a massive EU bailout designed to keep the near-bankrupt country afloat and is likely to be cheered across Europe.
Calling for a "broad" coalition to put into action the EU package, the hard-pressed premier told parliament he was open to a government of national unity.
Shortly before lawmakers began voting, Papandreou had announced he would see the Greek president later on Saturday to hand in his mandate and start talks on the formation of such a government.
"Honest and broad backing is called for," he told deputies ahead of the vote. "The changes that need to take place are historic and require citizens\' participation."
He dismissed opposition calls for an early election, saying such a vote would be a "catastrophe".
And it was not clear whether he would be the person to lead the coalition government when it is formed.
But, in a clear hint that he might step aside, he said he would not put personal considerations before saving the country.
"I am not interested in a chair, the last thing I am interested in is whether I am re-elected.
"If by my deeds I can give a message that we are not enemies ... then I will have made the greatest contribution to the country in my 30-year career," he said.
"The tradition of my family would not permit me to do anything different," said Papandreou, whose father and grandfather were also leaders of Greece.
As the debate took place, several thousand communists staged noisy protest in front of the flood-lit building.
Chanting, banging drums and waving red and Greek flags, the protestors overflowed the central Syntagma Square under the watchful eye of several hundred police officers carrying riot gear.
In a poignant expression of the hardships ordinary Greeks are suffering, one little girl, high on her father\'s shoulders, carried a sign which read: "My grandma needs care, my mother wants a job and I want schoolbooks."
The vote capped a tumultuous week for Greece that began with Papandreou\'s disastrous call to hold a referendum on the 100-billion-euro ($138-billion) EU bailout package that sparked revolt in his own party and roiled markets.
Analysts had warned that renewed political uncertainty could halt the disbursement of a new eight-billion-euro loan package that Greece needs by December 15 to pay the bills.
Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos said that early elections could be held once negotiations on the EU bailout package are complete.
Papandreou\'s call for a referendum earned him a humiliating dressing-down this week from European leaders, who warned it could derail the rescue package and even raised questions about Greece\'s continued EU membership.
On the street, people appeared to be in favour of a government of national unity. One pensioner who gave his name as Takis told AFP: "As matters stand, nothing can save us.
"There must be a government of national salvation with all the parties until we have elections. They way things are now George (Papandreou) cannot continue."
On Syntagma Square, where violent demonstrations have taken place during the crisis, Sofia Papadimitriou, a 25-year-old student said: "Papandreou must go."
"He\'s had it. He can\'t get anything done. He hasn\'t got any energy left."
The Ta Nea daily said the country was "on the edge of a cliff" and Eleftheros Typos rounded on Papandreou, saying he was "destroying Greece."
For the first time, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and others raised the spectre of Greece leaving the euro, hiking the pressure on the politicians in Athens to strike a deal if they wanted to remain in the bloc.
Bemoaning the fact that "Greece is once again in the world media spotlight for all the wrong reasons," the Athens News said the country was in a state of "confusion and inconsistency."
Vangelis Ipadimou, a worker studying the headlines at one of the several newspaper kiosks in central Athens, said he wanted power removed from politicians.
"We should give the responsibility to technocrats, not to politicians any more," he said.