Talks have begun between the outgoing Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou and the leader of the opposition about who should lead a new unity government.
Mr Papandreou and opposition leader Antonis Samaras have talked on the phone and will hold further conversations later in the day, a government official said.
Mr Papandreou and Mr Samaras agreed late yesterday to form a coalition government to implement a European Union bailout deal for their cash-strapped country.
The new leader will replace Mr Papandreou, who stepped down under pressure from his own party after the political crisis triggered by his attempt to hold a referendum on the second Greek bailout.
A new cross-party unity coalition will be formed, which will approve the second Greek rescue plan drawn up following negotiations in Brussels ten days ago.
Mr Papandreou held telephone talks with EU leaders today on his efforts to form a coalition government, his office said.
Mr Papandreou spoke with Eurogroup head Jean-Claude Juncker, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso and German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
The German leader praised Papandreou's efforts to resolve a political stalemate.
"Merkel expressed respect for the efforts undertaken by the prime minister and the country, and underlined that the (coalition) agreement was a positive development," the office said.
Among the names suggested as a possible new leader are Lucas Papademos, a former Greek governor of the European Central Bank and Stavros Dimas, a former European Commissioner.
The exact duration of the coalition and its specific mandate remain unclear.
It is thought it could last until February and that it may be restricted to implementing the terms of the second bailout.
Once its mandate is complete fresh elections would be held.
The deal follows pressure from the European Commission, and from eurozone leaders who felt Mr Papandreou's referendum gambit was done in bad faith since he had signed up to the 26 October eurozone deal.
