Greek opposition leader calls on PM to resign

The leader of Greece’s main conservative opposition party, Andonis Samaras, met with the country’s president on Sunday.

After the meeting, Samaras said Prime Minister George  Papandreou is hindering any solution to breaking a political impasse as long as he stays in power.
         
“Mr. Papandreou won’t decide what he is going to do and he is blocking any solution. As long as Mr. Papandreou does not resign he is blocking the constitution. I am determined to help. If he resigns everything will take its course,” he told reporters in Greek before he repeated the same position in English.
         
“I just said that I have decided to help but as long as he doesn’t decide what to do and as long as he doesn’t resign he doesn’t allow the constitution procedures to unfold.”
         
Greece is seeking to form a coalition government in order to pass a crucial bailout deal and receive further funding.
        
Samaras did not make explicitly clear whether he would join a proposed coalition government but said he is willing to help if Papandreou steps down.

Smaller opposition parties have said that the main opposition New Democracy party has to participate in a coalition government for the scheme to work.
         
Greek leaders were going through a second day of talks and behind-the-scenes wrangling to break a political deadlock that threatens to push the debt-laden nation closer to bankruptcy and out of the euro zone.
         
On Monday, European leaders meet in Brussels and will be expecting to hear from Greece on its progress in creating a unity government.