Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou, right, and Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos react during a confidence vote meeting at the parliament in Athens, on Friday

Image: AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris

Greek leaders continue talks, with only five weeks worth of cash left

Opposition leader Antonis Samaras will meet with the Greek president today. Samaras is calling for a snap election.

Nov 6th 2011, 10:25 AM 260 0

THE GREEK OPPOSITION leader Antonis Samaras is to meet with the country’s president today, as he pushes for snap elections.

Samaras has rejected the idea of forming a coalition government. The prime minister George Papandreou has appealed for cross-party cooperation in a bid to resolve the Greek crisis.

Reuters reports that Greece only has enough money to last five weeks, and Papandreou says that forming a coalition is the only way to secure a second bailout agreement.

Samaras has also demanded the PM’s resignation. President Karolos Papoulias is urging all sides to work together to solve the crisis.

Yesterday Papandreou met with Papoulias, and said that cooperation was essential in order to secure the new €130 billion rescue agreement. Papandreou was forced by his austerity-weary Socialist party into seeking cross-party support after he abandoned a disastrous proposal to hold a referendum on a new European debt deal — which prompted havoc on world markets and anger from creditors.

Samaras is due to meet with the president within the next hour.