Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou has agreed to leave the position that he has held since 2009 in exchange for the passage of the debt bailout plan that he has been pushing for weeks. That deal will equal just over one hundred thirty euro in debt relief and is only part of the plan to get Greek's troubled economy back on track.

Greek President Karolos Papoulias issued a statement that included the information that Papandreou would be leaving office and that Antonis Samaras, who is the leader of the opposition party, the New Democracy Party would be working to form a new government. The two will have an additional meeting on Monday which is meant to determine who will be the successor to Papandreou's seat as well as who will serve in the newly formed government. National elections will be held but only after part of the bailout plan is put into effect.

In late October, the leaders of the European Union met to work out an agreement that would help some of the debt facing Greece as well as other nations. That deal would eliminate approximately half of the debt that Greece owes, an amount close to one hundred billion euros. Another thirty billion euros will be set aside to help the public sector to eliminate or reduce their own debt. In addition to the reduction of debt, the plan calls for certain government jobs to be ended, some businesses to be privatized and pension across the nation to be reduced.

This marks the second such bail out that Greece has received from the European Union and the International Monetary Fund.

Greece's economic woes have been closely and nervously monitored around the world as it's fates influence what happens in other nations, especially those in Europe. An economic default by Greece right now could mark the doom for Italy, Spain, Portugal and Ireland. Both Portugal and Ireland are already struggling.

Economic advisers and experts are confident that current Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos would be likely to retain his position even within the new government. The new government will be put into place in the coming weeks and is likely to last for only four months before new elections are held in the spring.

Several contenders are likely to make their bid for the soon to be vacated Prime Minister's post according to reports on Greek television including Petros Moliviatis and Loukas Papaimos. Another meeting, this one open to the public will also be scheduled in the next week.