Greek PM to step down

Amid the very real threat of default in Greece, Prime Minister George Papandreou has decided to step down from his position. According to CNN, the Prime Minister and the opposition leader, Antonis Samaras, agreed that a new government is in order. The two will be meeting on monday to decide who will hold what positions in the new government and who the new Prime Minister will be. According to the article, the PM has received much criticism for his leadership and his move to step down is looked upon as a beneficial one for Greece. What did Papandreou step down for? According to the agreement, because he stepped down nearly 100 Billion euros in Greek debt will be erased (about half of its outstanding debt), and 30 Billion euros for the private sector. (Totally nearly $178 million US dollars) Much is at stake here, if Greece does in fact default, the economies of larger nations could be effected such as Italy, Spain, Ireland and Portugal. This is the second economic bailout that the Greek government has received within the last month. According to CNN, the Greek finance minister is likely to keep his post, and the interim government will have a shelf life of four months while a permanent one is formed. This is an interesting story to read about because if Greece does indeed default on its debt it will effect the rest of Europe including economic powerhouses such as Germany and France. This will create a ripple effect that will eventually effect the United States. The economic meltdown of Greece and the possible side effects are results of a global economy. This just goes to show that as globalization can be a good thing it can also have devastating results. http://www.cnn.com/2011/11/06/world/europe/greece-main/index.html Andrew Cross