Greece Financial Crisis
Lawmakers applaud Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou, right, after his speech during a parliament session in Athens, Thursday, Nov. 3, 2011. Papa...
Lawmakers applaud Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou, right, after his speech during a parliament session in Athens, Thursday, Nov. 3, 2011. Papandreou abandoned his explosive plan to put a European rescue deal to popular vote Thursday, keeping his government alive _ but passionate squabbling in Athens left the country's solvency in doubt and the eurozone in turmoil. Greek Prime Minister reversed course after a rebellion within his own Socialist party over the referendum, but ignored repeated calls to resign and call elections. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)
Greece Financial Crisis
Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou speaks during a parliament session in Athens, Thursday, Nov. 3, 2011. Papandreou abandoned his explosive plan ...
Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou speaks during a parliament session in Athens, Thursday, Nov. 3, 2011. Papandreou abandoned his explosive plan to put a European rescue deal to popular vote Thursday, keeping his government alive _ but passionate squabbling in Athens left the country's solvency in doubt and the eurozone in turmoil. Greek Prime Minister reversed course after a rebellion within his own Socialist party over the referendum, but ignored repeated calls to resign and call elections.(AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)
Greece Financial Crisis
Socialist lawmaker Eva Kaili, center, chats prior the speech of Greek prime minister George Papandreou to his Socialist lawmakers members of parliam...
Socialist lawmaker Eva Kaili, center, chats prior the speech of Greek prime minister George Papandreou to his Socialist lawmakers members of parliament, in Athens, Thursday , Nov. 3, 2011 Papandreou has called a confidence vote on his government for Friday night, and his majority was reduced to the bare minimum 151 when Socialist lawmaker Eva Kaili said she would not vote in favor. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)
Greece Financial Crisis
Greek minister of Finance Evangelos Venizelos, right, and Minister of Culture and Tourism Pavlos Geroulanos attend the confidence vote in the Greek p...
Greek minister of Finance Evangelos Venizelos, right, and Minister of Culture and Tourism Pavlos Geroulanos attend the confidence vote in the Greek parliament, Athens, on Friday, Nov. 4, 2011 .Greece's ruling Socialists were in open revolt against their own prime minister ahead of a confidence vote Friday, a political free-for-all set off by a European bailout plan. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)
APTOPIX Greece Financial Crisis
Greek Communist Party's members shout slogans during a protest at the Athens' main Syntagma square, on Friday, Nov. 4, 2011. About 7,000 protesters a...
Greek Communist Party's members shout slogans during a protest at the Athens' main Syntagma square, on Friday, Nov. 4, 2011. About 7,000 protesters attend the rally as Greece's ruling Socialists were in open revolt against their own prime minister ahead of a confidence vote Friday, in a political free-for-all over a new European plan to keep the deeply indebted country afloat. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)
APTOPIX Greece Financial Crisis
Greek Communist Party's members shout slogans during a protest at the Athens' main Syntagma square in Athens, Friday, Nov. 4, 2011. Greece's ruling S...
Greek Communist Party's members shout slogans during a protest at the Athens' main Syntagma square in Athens, Friday, Nov. 4, 2011. Greece's ruling Socialists were in open revolt against their own prime minister ahead of a confidence vote Friday, in a political free-for-all over a new European plan to keep the deeply indebted country afloat.(AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)
Greece Financial Crisis
A Socialist lawmaker of the ruling party Aikaterini Farmaki prepares to take her seat in the Greek Parliament before confidence vote, in Athens, on F...
A Socialist lawmaker of the ruling party Aikaterini Farmaki prepares to take her seat in the Greek Parliament before confidence vote, in Athens, on Friday, Nov. 4, 2011. Greece's ruling Socialists were in open revolt against their own prime minister ahead of a confidence vote Friday, a political free-for-all set off by a European bailout plan. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)
Greece Financial Crisis
Greek minister of Finance Evangelos Venizelos, reads during the confidence vote in the Greek parliament, Athens, on Friday, Nov. 4, 2011 .Greece's ru...
Greek minister of Finance Evangelos Venizelos, reads during the confidence vote in the Greek parliament, Athens, on Friday, Nov. 4, 2011 .Greece's ruling Socialists were in open revolt against their own prime minister ahead of a confidence vote Friday, a political free-for-all set off by a European bailout plan. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)
Greece's embattled prime minister promised to start immediate powersharing talks to form a caretaker government, declaring his willingness to step aside if needed, but ruled out snap elections that he said would scuttle a major new European debt deal.
George Papandreou made the pledge late Friday, moments before lawmakers were to cast ballots in a confidence vote in his troubled two-year Socialist government. The vote comes days after Papandreou's ultimately scrapped plan to put the debt deal to a referendum sparked an open rebellion in the governing party, with deputies openly calling for him to step down.
The plan to put the deal to a popular vote had led to anger among European leaders and roiled global markets. Papandreou withdrew the plan Thursday.
