por admin » Jue Nov 03, 2011 3:53 pm
No hay referendum
Papandreou buscara concenso con la oposicion acerca del rescate.
NOVEMBER 3, 2011, 5:42 P.M. ET.
Greek Leader Drops Referendum Plan
By MARCUS WALKER and ALKMAN GRANITSAS
ATHENS—Greece's leaders scrambled to restore political stability in the country and preserve it's euro membership, killing a controversial plan for a referendum on Greece's latest bailout that has roiled global markets and infuriated European leaders.
The decision by Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou to shelve the poll capped a tumultuous few days that thrust Athens to the brink of political chaos and forced Europe's leaders to contemplate Greece's exit from the single currency. Faced with a rebellion from within his own party over the referendum, Mr. Papandreou backed away from the plan on Thursday, saying he would seek a bipartisan alliance with Greece's conservative opposition to form a national consensus on the bailout.
Though the future of Mr. Papandreou's government remained in doubt ahead of a planned confidence vote on Friday, his decision to drop the proposed referendum quelled fears of an imminent Greek exit from the euro zone, a step that some feared risked triggering the collapse of the currency itself.
Leaders of the Group of 20 leading global economies, meanwhile, gathered in Cannes, France, searched for ways to shore up the wider euro currency zone – a major part of the global economy – against the growing financial chaos unleashed by the Greek tumult.
Financial markets breathed relief that Greece's planned referendum – whose uncertain outcome could have pushed Greece into the biggest sovereign debt default in history and Europe into a slump– was taken off the table.
WSJ's Matina Stevis checks in with Mean Street from Greek Parliament to detail PM George Papandreou's struggle to ward off financial collapse. During her report, the opposition party stormed out of the room. Photo: Louisa Gouliamaki/AFP/Getty Images
.Mr. Papandreou had floated the referendum this week as a democratic necessity for sustaining his drastic austerity policies aimed at curbing Greece's debts. But on Thursday the Greek leader caved in to pressure from his own Socialist party as well as European governments, who began openly questioning whether Greece would have to leave the euro.
Amid mounting panic in Greece that the country could be thrown out of the European currency and into bankruptcy, conservative opposition leader Antonis Samaras offered the embattled Mr. Papandreou a way to climb down.
Mr. Samaras – an old friend of the premier's from their student days together at Amherst College in Massachusetts – said he would support Europe's latest bailout deal with Greece, under which the country must deepen its austerity measures in return for €130 billion in international aid loans and a restructuring of its bond debts.
Mr. Papandreou told an emergency cabinet meeting on Thursday that building a bipartisan consensus for the bailout plan is now his priority, according to comments released by his office.
"If the opposition comes to the table and accepts the (bailout) agreement, then there is no need for a referendum," Mr. Papandreou said. Other government officials said the referendum idea was effectively dead. The premier in any case lacked the votes in parliament to authorize a referendum, political analysts said.
WSJ's Thorold Barker pays a visit to Mean Street to point out that having let the Greek debt crisis extend for several years may portend a less than favorable future for Europe. Photo: Chris Ratcliffe-Pool/Getty Images
.Until Thursday, Mr. Samaras had vociferously rejected Europe's tough bailout terms for Greece and called for more pro-growth policies based on tax cuts. European governments have made clear they aren't prepared to finance his wishes. Mr. Samaras, in tune with much of Greek public opinion, has railed against drastic austerity measures are leading to deepening economic and social misery in the country.
But Mr. Samaras and his New Democracy party fear national bankruptcy and a Greek euro exit even more. "At this point the new (bailout) agreement is inevitable and it must be safeguarded," Mr. Samaras said Thursday. He called for an interim government that would oversee the bailout deal before giving way to new elections around year-end.
Mr. Samaras told parliament that he had conveyed that demand to the premier in an afternoon phone call. "If he thinks I want to govern together with him, he understood wrong," Mr. Samaras said: "I told him clearly to resign and that we go to elections."
Mr. Papandreou rebuffed the call to resign. The premier hasn't said how long he would want a national-unity government to last. Earlier this year he signalled that he might step aside to make a bipartisan government happen.
The increasingly open debate in Europe's capitals about whether Greece should be kicked out of the euro has mortified the Mediterranean nation. Only a minority of Greeks want to see the old national currency, the drachma, return. Economists say reintroducing a weak national currency would probably destroy Greece's banking system and cause widespread financial ruin in its society. Being cast out of the euro, centerpiece of 60 years of European unification, was also be a huge blow to the morale and identity of a nation that sees itself as the cradle of European civilization.
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Embattled Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou addresses Socialist lawmakers in Parliament in Athens on Thursday.
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Amid rising speculation that he may resign by the end of the day, Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou is caught in an escalating political crisis with national concerns on one side and pressure from Greece's creditors on the other. Matina Stevis and Charles Forelle report on Markets Hub. Photo: AFP / Getty Images.
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..Even many Socialist voters are furious with Mr. Papandreou for putting Greece's place in Europein doubt. "He brought Greece to its knees, brought misery to the people and ridiculed the country abroad," said Georgia Apostolopoulou, a 41-year-old insurance company worker from Athens. "I can't believe that Papandreou still doesn't get it and insists on staying on," she said.
Despite his U-turn on the referendum, Mr. Papandreou still faced a fight to survive a parliamentary vote of confidence due late Friday. And most analysts in Greece doubt Mr. Papandreou will cling on to power for long, despite his proven tenacity.
Greek Drama Unfolds at G-20
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From left, French President Nicolas Sarkozy, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and German Chancellor Angela Merkel at the G-20 in Cannes, France.
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.Mr. Samaras has long insisted that Mr. Papandreou would have to step down as prime minister before any government of national unity can be formed. When the two men held talks in June this year about forming a "government of national salvation," Mr. Papandreou said he would step aside if a successor vowed to continue his overhauls of the country. Those earlier talks failed when conservatives leaked them to media and Socialists balked at giving up power.
Another day of Greek drama began before dawn, when Mr. Papandreou's finance minister, Evangelos Venizelos, attacked his boss's proposed referendum in a statement. "Greece's place in the euro is a historical conquest by the Greek people that cannot be placed in question," Mr. Venizelos said. Defending this achievement, he said, "cannot depend on a referendum."
WSJ's Charles Forelle reports from the G20 Summit in Cannes that European leaders are considering the expulsion of Greece from the Eurozone. Also, Greece's proposal for a referendum on a bailout plan has sparked goverment defections. AFP PHOTO
.The two men, longtime political rivals within the ruling Socialist party, had just landed in Athens after visiting the G-20 summit in Cannes, where Mr. Papandreou received a dressing-down from European leaders. German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy piled pressure on the Greek premier to stick to the bailout plan and hold any referendum as soon as possible.
By Thursday morning, Mr. Papandreou's narrow Socialist majority of two seats in parliament had evaporated when two more lawmakers came out against him, joining earlier rebels against his leadership. That left Mr. Papandreou without enough support to win Friday's planned vote of confidence – or a subsequent parliamentary vote on holding a referendum.
Mr. Papandreou was widely expected to resign in the afternoon after a cabinet meeting – but instead came out fighting.
Dow Jones's Terry Roth discusses the political implications if the Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou resigns.
."Greece's place in the euro is a historical conquest by the Greek people that cannot be placed in question...this cannot be made dependent on a referendum," he said after returning from a meeting of leaders from the Group of 20 industrial and emerging economies in Cannes, France.
Several other socialist lawmakers called for the creation of a unity government that will secure approval of Greece's latest loan agreement and lead the country to new elections. "It is critical that the country's political forces agree to the creation of a national salvation government," Socialist party lawmaker Dimitris Lintzeris told reporters in parliament. "Papandreou is past."
Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou meets with German and French leaders ahead of the G20 summit in Cannes, as his decision to hold a referendum sends shockwaves throughout Europe. Courtesy of Reuters.
.Two senior opposition officials said the leader of the opposition party New Democracy is considering entering into a possible coalition government if Mr. Papandreou is forced to resign.
A senior Pasok deputy said he believed a Mr. Papandreou resignation and the formation of a national unity government was the most prominent scenario.
A New Democracy deputy, Sotiris Hatzigakis, sent a letter to Mr. Samaras asking him to lead procedures to form a government of national unity that would include as many parties as possible. "[Samaras] ought to take initiative for a national unity government with the participation of parties of the wider democratic spectrum," the letter said.
Officially, the New Democracy was non-committal. "We are observing developments closely and considering our response," Mr. Samaras's spokesman said.
Debt, Doubt and the Euro Zone
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..In Cannes on Wednesday, Mr. Papandreou was grilled by other euro-zone leaders when it was made plain that Greece was running out of time and needed to make a clear decision that it would make the sacrifices needed to continue to receive financial support and remain in the euro zone.
Several European leaders have stated their deep frustration that this latest development risks delaying broader efforts to defend the euro by months, including an enhanced bailout found for insolvent governments.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy warned in Cannes that Greece won't receive any further aid until the issue is resolved, echoing the views of German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who was also present.
"Does Greece want to remain part of the euro zone or not," Ms. Merkel said. "That is the question the Greek people must now answer."
Greece's partners insisted that if Greece goes through with a referendum on the euro, that it at least be held no later than early December. Many fear that prolonged uncertainty increases the risk of a Greek bankruptcy that could unsettle holders of debt in other weaker euro-zone governments, such as Italy or Spain.
Mr. Sarkozy and Christine Lagarde, head of the International Monetary Fund, both said Wednesday night that Greece wouldn't receive the next €8 billion ($11.0 billion) aid payment until clarity is restored to Greece's future. Amounting to a three-month delay in a payment that was originally due in September, the postponement added new pressure on Greece's public finances.
Potential investors in Europe's new bailout fund, notably China, now say no decisions will be made until the fund's details are known and Greece's future is clear.
Also on ice is a tentative agreement for Greece's creditor banks to accept a 50% loss on their Greek government bond holdings, the core of a debt-relief program for Athens.
"The unexpected springing of the referendum on EU partners immediately after two EU summits in a week had reached what looked like a breakthrough deal has shredded that irretrievably," BNP Paribas economists said in a a note to clients.