Greeks await new unity government, early elections possible on Feb.

Greeks awaited on Monday the announcement of the new unity government that will continue efforts to save the country from default, as outgoing Prime Minister George Papandreou and main opposition conservative New Democracy party leader Antonis Samaras are due to hold fresh consultations to finalize its composition. Late on Sunday night, under heavy pressure from international lenders and within the country, with the mediation of the President of the Greek Republic Karolos Papoulias, the two reached an agreement to form a coalition government. The new government will hold early general elections in a few months, following the implementation of the vital October 26 EU agreement over the release of further bailout loans to the debt-ridden country. Without it, Greece could go bankrupt by the end of the year. Under Sunday's deal, Papandreou will resign. As the two sides continue negotiations on the choice of his successor and members of the new cabinet, according to media reports citing sources from the two parties, the elections could be called most probably on February 19. Current Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos who was due to represent Greece in a euro zone Finance ministers meeting in Brussels on Monday, is amongst the candidates for the top post or a Vice Presidency in the new team, according to Greek media reports. The favourite candidate was Lucas Papademos, current financial advisor to Papandreou and former European Central Bank Vice President. Other potential heads of the coalition government included Stavros Dimas, current New Democracy Vice President and former European Commissioner for the Environment and European Ombudsman Nikiforos Diamandouros. The political uncertainty in Greece that added to the acute debt crisis since last week alarmed Greek people, European partners and the international community, since a Greek default could hit global economy. The political crisis erupted when Papandreou made a surprise call for a referendum on the EU aid pact, triggering fears of a possible Greek exit from the euro zone. Sunday's agreement was met with reserved optimism by politicians, analysts, media commentators and ordinary Greeks in Athens that the new unity cabinet will take all the needed steps in coming months to avert a financial meltdown.