Greece poised to name new prime minister

Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou planned to conclude talks with his opposition rival Tuesday and name a new prime minister, a government spokesman said."There was positive convergence on the new premier," a government spokesman said in a statement.State public broadcaster New Hellenic Television said the government would also name new Cabinet ministers Tuesday.European Union finance ministers were expected to formally sign off on Greece's sixth bailout loan installment Tuesday, as long as a government was in place, officials said.Greek Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos said he was told Greece would get the $11 billion after pledging the country's commitment, in writing, to adhere to bailout-agreement reforms decided by European leaders Oct. 27.Greece, which says it will run out of money by mid-December if it does not receive the payment, was supposed to get the money in September. But the payment was held up because Greece was so far off the mark in meeting its commitments, officials said.Papandreou called a special midday Cabinet meeting Tuesday as government officials denied former European Central Bank Vice President Lucas Papademos had been chosen as Papandreou's replacement.Papandreou agreed Sunday to step down in favor of a new prime minister who would lead the caretaker government.Papademos, 64, was initially the favorite, due to the international respect for his credentials, NET said.But the Harvard University professor of international finance fell from favor when he demanded a strong voice in naming ministers and a government of more than three months' duration, the network said.The new government is to lead the country to new elections, which Greece's Socialist and New Democratic parties agreed in principle would be held Feb. 19.The new apparent front-runner is International Monetary Fund Director Panagiotis Roumeliotis, a former Greek finance minister, a Socialist party official told The Wall Street Journal.Roumeliotis, involved in Greek politics since the late 1970s, is also a European Union special representative promoting "stability and good neighborliness in southeastern Europe," a United Press International review of his resume indicated.Other people being considered include veteran diplomat Petros Molyviatis, who negotiated Greece's entry into the European Union, former European Commissioner Stavros Dimas and European Union Ombudsman Nikiforos Diamantouros, the Journal said.The Greek unity government, which could be sworn in this week, will be charged with enacting the Oct. 27 bailout agreement, which writes off $138 billion in debt held by Greece's private creditors and commits another $180 billion to help Greece meet its remaining commitments -- provided the government enacts a new round of painfully deep austerity measures that eurozone leaders said last week were not negotiable.Those measures were greeted furiously by austerity-weary Greeks.Eurozone leaders say the bailout's draconian measures are their best weapon against letting debt-crippled Greece default and possibly bring down the rest of the union with it.