He's only been in office since the socialists won control in 2009 but Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou has received quite a buffeting in his short tenure.

The prime minister has been used, abused, strung out, rung out, and left to hang by the opposition, the IMF, the EU, and even his own party.

Now, it appears, the string has been played out and Papandreou has been all used up.

Sky News:

Greece's prime minister George Papandreou will resign today, Pasok party sources have told Sky News.

A possible replacement for Mr Papandreou is currently being discussed, the sources have also indicated.

The development comes after the country's opposition leader insisted the PM must go to save the economy.

Antonis Samaras said he was willing to help in the formation of a coalition government - but not until Mr Papandreou had stepped down.

Despite winning a confidence vote in parliament, Mr Papandreou has struggled to form a temporary coalition government to back the controversial EU bailout package.

The prime minister had gone into talks with president Karolos Papoulias on how to construct an administration to negotiate the deal to write down Greek debt and release billions in emergency aid.

But sources within Pasok - the socialist party that Mr Papandreou heads - have told Sky News there are only two possible scenarios.

The first involves Mr Papandreou stepping down and being replaced by a compromise candidate who is acceptable to both the left and right of the political spectrum.

The second scenario would see Mr Papandreou stepping down and being replaced by someone within Pasok itself - potentially Evangelos Venizelos, the current finance minister, who has been part of the bailout negotiations.

An emergency cabinet meeting will be held this afternoon, when these issues will be discussed.

No doubt the socialists would love to get a candidate that both right and left could back. They need as much political cover as possible to pass the austerity measures that have been at the heart of this political crisis and having the opposition sign on to the poisonous legislation would be ideal.

Unfortunately, the right of center parties may conclude it best that the socialists swallow the medicine alone. If that happens, the bail out package will once again be in jeapordy and the crisis will be on them again.