Greek premier demands unity as lawmakers defect

PRIME Minister George Papandreou appealed for unity from his own lawmakers yesterday to beat Greece’s debt crisis after two deputies quit and the IMF insisted there can be no back-sliding on agreed cuts.

In a dramatic address to his Socialist Party, the embattled premier said that both Greece and Europe as a whole were facing a pivotal moment in their history as he sought to nail down backing for an austerity package.

“The challenge before us, the moment we are facing, is historic. Either Europe will make history or history will wipe out the European Union,” he said.