George announcing Papademos to his ministers

Upon realizing that his proposal for Philippos Petsalnikos is not being accepted, the PM made a U-turn. After the fiasco of the political leaders’ meeting, he returned to his office in parliament and phoned Lucas Papademos. The latter reiterated that he wants the active participation and support of ND and asked for a not-so-strict time limit for the elections in order to be able to complete the necessary tasks. The PM agreed and contacted the ND president, who according to Maximos Mansion asked to announce his position himself.

Subsequently, the PM launched a round of telephone contacts with all the ministers. He informed them as to where the candidacy of the former central banker was stuck, placed the blame on Samaras and asked for their opinion. He even offered the possibility of an informal cabinet meeting shortly before midnight to make a collective decision. The ministers said that it was not needed and all pointed to the urgency of this matter being concluded immediately.

Meanwhile a lot of ministers, even on Papandreou’s side, stressed the need for the preparation of a political solution. They even mentioned Venizelos. Characteristically, they were the same ones who, a few hours earlier, had put pressure on Maximou to take back the Petsalnikos option.

Ministers from Papandreou’s side gathered in parliament. The commonly used phrase was "George, this can’t go through". This climate reached the presidential mansion and some ministers threatened with refusing to take part in the new government and MPs warned about a negative vote. This resulted in Papandreou leaving the mansion empty handed…