Papandreou to go, but uncertainty remains

The eyes of Europe, which have been focused on Greece all week, will see a slightly brighter picture today – albeit one still engulfed in heavy fog. The good news: a new coalition government will be formed – the government of “national unity” that EU leaders wanted – to approve the bailout package ahead of new elections.

Prime Minister George Papandreou will step down, following his aborted call for a referendum on the bailout terms last week. His future had been a major part of the uncertainty surrounding Greece: reports of his resigntion on both Thursday and Friday turned out to be premature, if only by a matter of days.

But there’s no word yet on his successor, and if a new PM is not agreed upon before this afternoon – when the EU finance ministers meet in Brussels – it’ll be a sign that the chaos is far from over.