Papandreou Survivies No-Confidence Vote

Greece's Prime Minister George Papandreou survived a vote of no-confidence on Tuesday night, ensuring that his government would survive for the time being. The move was widely anticipated by the markets. European markets had been rallying on Tuesday. The Athens General Index was up nearly 4% on the session. Last week, Papandreou reshuffled his cabinet ministers in the hopes of restoring confidence in his leadership. The move appears to have worked. At this point, with renewed confidence in Papandreou's leadership, Greece may be able to move forward with austerity measures designed to bring the country's budget under control. That could mean that Greece has an easier time securing a second rescue package from eurozone members. Germany had warned that it may not participate in another round of financing should Greece not submit itself to additional fiscal tightening. For the time being, it appears as though Greece is on the right path. That might be good for the euro. Ultimately, however, the fiscal realities might be too much for Greece to overcome.