share: digg facebook twitter Referendum turmoil threatens Greek government Associated Press Copyright 2011 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Published 08:25 a.m., Tuesday, November 1, 2011 ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Lawmakers in Greece's ruling Socialist party revolted Tuesday over their prime minister's surprise decision to hold a vote on a European debt deal, threatening the very survival of his embattled government. Prime Minister George Papandreou's announcement on the public vote unleashed political and market turmoil around Europe and the world, and left observers wondering just how long his government could hold on. The public vote would allow the Socialists — who have been vilified by an increasingly hostile public during months of strikes, sit-ins and violent protests over austerity measures — to pass the responsibility for the country's fate onto the Greek people themselves. [...] it was not even clear that the government could survive a confidence vote scheduled for Friday, let alone ask the Greek people how they felt about a bailout deal that took European leaders months of intense negotiations to work out. "The crisis in the country has taken on uncontrollable dimensions and is threatening the cohesion of Greek society," Apostolaki said in her letter announcing her resignation from the party's parliamentary seat.