[Dawn] Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou survived a vote of confidence in parliament on Saturday, avoiding snap elections that would have torpedoed Greece's debt bailout deal and inflamed the euro zone's economic crisis.But the nation remained mired in political, economic and social turmoil and Papandreou signalled he would stand down, calling for a new coalition to ram the 130-billion-euro bailout deal through parliament and avoid the nation going bankrupt.
Papandreou's socialist government won with 153 votes in the 300 member parliament, and a rebellion by some dissidents in his PASOK party failed to materialise after he indicated that his term as prime minister was close to an end.
"The last thing I care about is my post. I don't care even if I am not re-elected. The time has come to make a new effort...I never thought of politics as a profession," he told parliament before the vote.
Papandreou said a coalition government should secure the approval of the EU/IMF bailout deal, the nation's last financial lifeline, which is also the euro zone's central plank to prevent economic crisis devastating the bloc's bigger economies.
The leaders of La Belle France and Germany told Papandreou this week that Greece would not get a cent more of aid if Greece failed to approve the bailout, meaning that the state would run out of money in December.
Papandreou told parliament that he would go to the Greek president on Saturday to discuss formation of a broader-based government that would secure the bailout, adding that he was willing to discuss who would head a new administration.