Papandreou to Quit After New Govt Forms

Greek PM George Papandreou will step down as soon as a new coalition government is formed, CNN reports. As the Greek Cabinet met a second day today in a last-ditch effort to avoid bankruptcy, the government issued a statement saying the meeting would be the last presided over by the embattled Papandreou, whose exit has often been predicted in recent days. Leading candidates to replace him include Petros Moliviatis and Loukas Papaimos; the new government will have a shelf life of four months, followed by elections in the spring.

"We need to have an agreement during the course of today for a new coalition government, and we need to specify by tomorrow, Monday, the name of the new prime minister," said a spokesman for Papandreou's PASOK party. "I can sense the agony of the Greek people," said opposition leader Antonis Samaras, adding that "everything will take its course" when Papandreou resigns and "everything else is negotiable." (More Greek debt crisis stories.)