Papandreou Being Asked to Resign by His Own Party

Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou faced calls from within his own party to step down on Tuesday after he threw his country's eurozone membership into jeoprady by calling for a referendum on a bailout package agreed to only last week, reports Reuters.

A leading lawmaker from Papandreou's socailist party resigned, while two others said that Greece needed a change of government and quick elections.

French and German officials were caught off gaurd by Papandreou's call for a referendum and expressed increduiltiy at the announcement.

"The Greek prime minister has taken this decision without talking it through with his European collegues," said Jean-Claude Juncker, chair of the eurozone finance ministers.