The Greek prime minister and opposition have agreed on the formation of a new coalition government in a bid to break the political deadlock and pave the way for an EU bailout for the debt-stricken country.
Prime minister George Papandreou and opposition leader Antonis Samaras battled over the weekend to strike the deal – which will see a new leader appointed to take over from Papandreou – ahead of the opening of the global financial markets this morning.
A statement from the Greek presidency said the leaders will meet again on Monday to discuss who would head the coalition government, but made no mention of how long the interim government would last.
Officials from the two parties were continuing with talks late on Sunday to try to set the time needed to implement the bailout.
Under the auspices of the nation's president, Karolos Papoulias, Papandreou and Samaras struck the deal to form an interim administration to agree on how to enact a bailout agreement, and so steer Greece through its worst crisis in modern times. » | Helena Smith in Athens and Tom Kington in Rome | Sunday, November 06, 2011
