Schäuble told lawmakers that approval of the three-year loan package is “in the interest of Greece and the interest of Europe”.
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The deal was welcomed by 454 lawmakers, while 113 voted against it and 18 abstained.
Though a party-breakdown of the vote was not immediately available, the result suggested that if anything, more of Merkel’s lawmakers voted in line with her recommendation.
“Of course, after the experience of the last years and months there is no guarantee that everything will work and it is permissible to have doubts”, said Schaeuble.
The deal is getting its final approvals in parliaments in several European states.
The move – a virtual formality – came after Germany’s parliament approved the bailout package, along with the assemblies of other creditor nations, removing a big hurdle to release the new loans.
Greece needs the money from global creditors by August 20, when it must repay about $3.5 billion in debt to the European Central Bank.
Under the terms of its third bailout, which is worth 86 billion euros ($96.10 billion), Greece must deliver a batch of reforms, including an overhaul of its pension system, changes to trading practices, privatizations, and a review of labor rules.
“With this joint decision on Greece, Europe is going down the right road, namely to stay together and find a solution”, Volker Kauder, caucus leader of Merkel’s bloc in parliament, told lawmakers Wednesday.
Many MPs want assurances that the global Monetary Fund will contribute to the bailout – but the IMF is avoiding any commitment until Greece’s progress is assessed in October.
The measure is expected to be approved due to the support of her Social Democrat coalition partners, but observers believe the rebellion could represent a strong hint of further troubles ahead for the chancellor.
Although the measure passed by a large margin in the German legislature, it required hard lobbying by Merkel and her finance minister, Wolfgang Schauble, who has considerable standing among German conservatives.
Klaus-Peter Willsch, one of the parliamentarians from Merkel’s bloc opposed to the bailout, dismissed the plan during Wednesday’s debate as “a present” to Athens.
“The problem isn’t a lack of European solidarity but a lack of Greek efficiency”, said conservative rebel Wolfgang Bosbach. In fact, precisely because of his hardline credentials, it is the Finance Minister that will do most of the talking during the debate, making the case for the government’s proposal to agree on the Greek bailout agreement.
Germany’s Fraport and Greek energy firm Copelouzos had agreed with the Greek privatiation agency a year ago that they would run the 14 airports around the country.
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The speculation has led to opposition accusations that Tsipras, who remains popular despite his U-turn on resisting austerity, wants elections simply to deal with his own internal rebellion.
