The Christian Democrats’ general secretary, Peter Tauber, warned this week that a vote against the bailout was “tantamount to stabbing the chancellor in the back” two years before the party fervently hopes to see her stand for a fourth term.
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The German parliament on Wednesday ratified a new bailout deal for Greece necessary to unlock a much-needed injection of cash, despite considerable skepticism from Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservative parliamentary group.
Geert Wilders, the anti-Islam lawmaker who is also a staunch opponent of the European Union and financial support for Greece, opened the debate by calling Prime Minister Mark Rutter “the Pinocchio of the Low Countries” for breaking an election pledge not to approve another bailout. A further three abstained.
On Wednesday Lafazanis repeated his opposition to the bailout and signaled he might refuse to support Tsipras in any confidence vote.
However, neither has said whether it would vote against Tsipras or merely abstain.
Ahead of the vote, Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble, long concerned about Greece’s fitness to remain a member of the currency area, told lawmakers that Athens deserved more aid after it accepted the painful economic overhauls and budget cuts attached to the €86 billion ($95 billion) bailout. “After the experiences of the past months and years, there are no guarantees that all this will work and doubts are always allowed”, Mr Schaeuble told lawmakers in Berlin.
“But considering the fact that the Greek parliament already approved most of the (stipulated reform) measures, it would be irresponsible not to seize this chance for a new beginning in Greece“, he said to applause from the chamber as Merkel looked on.
Support from parties including the Social Democrats (SPD), Merkel’s junior coalition partner, and the opposition Greens means approval is not in doubt.
Many senior figures in the ruling coalition agreed. A breakdown of the votes will be provided later Wednesday.
The Bundestag vote is one of the last hurdles to releasing the rescue funds after Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras last week secured the backing of the Parliament in Athens for the package of tax, pension and fiscal reforms that were conditions for his hard-left led government receiving the new bailout. The approval of the bailout is crucial to Athens making the payment.
The IMF’s head, Christine Lagarde, listened in on the eurozone’s debate of the deal last week via video call before eurozone finance ministers voted to accept it, and while she was optimistic about the decision, she has insisted that Greece’s debt is unsustainable without some form of debt relief.
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Debt relief for Greece could result in a change in the Greek bailout, which is likely to require another vote in the Bundestag.
