Former Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou has told his Socialist party that he will not seek re-election as its leader, according to the state TV network NET.
Papandreou, who led his country's government as Greece slipped into its crippling economic crisis, stepped down as prime minister in November to support, along with two conservative opposition parties, a coalition government led by technocrat Lucas Papademos.
Papandreou was re-elected as the Socialists' leader in November 2007 for a four-year term, and a new party vote for that position is now overdue.
NET says Papandreou told a meeting of his party's leaders on Wednesday that he won't seek re-election and that the party should hold its next congress for that vote in May at the earliest.
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