Greek lawmakers approved the draft third bailout in a parliamentary vote today. The vote relied on opposition party support and the government coalition suffered significant dissent.
The vote came after a marathon all-night session marked by procedural delays and acrimonious debate over the three-year, about 85 billion-euro rescue package that includes harsh spending cuts and tax increases.
The vote was passed with 222 votes in favor, 64 against, 11 abstentions and three absent in the 300-member parliament.
About a quarter of Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras’s Syriza party’s lawmakers voted against the bill.
Greece needed to pass the bill ahead of a meeting of eurozone finance ministers in Brussels today.
The deal will also need approval from the parliaments of several other countries, including that of Greece’s harshest critic, Germany, before any funds can be disbursed. Some nations, such as Finland, have already given their approval.
Dissenters in Tsipras’ own party angrily challenged the government, accusing it of reneging on anti-austerity promises it made before winning elections last January.
“I feel ashamed for you. We no longer have a democracy … but a eurozone dictatorship,” prominent party member and former energy minister Panagiotis Lafazanis said ahead of the vote. Lafazanis yesterday co-signed a declaration along with another 12 left-wing politicians declaring they would start a new anti-austerity movement. He stopped short of quitting Syriza outright, however.
Tsipras’ radical left party won elections in January on promises to repeal similar budget austerity imposed in return for Greece’s two previous bailouts.
“We took a painful decision of responsibility, and took a step back,” Tsipras said. “Our position cannot be served by escape or by fantasy. We took the decision to remain alive instead of committing suicide and complaining how unfair it was.”
Tsipras said Germany, and in particular its finance minister, Wolfgang Schaeuble, was attempting to undermine Greece and its position in Europe’s joint currency, and would rather see Greece kicked out of the euro.
Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos insisted Greece does not want an interim loan, which some creditors have proposed as a solution if the main bailout deal cannot be finalized with all creditors in time.
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