Energy Minister Panos Skourletis described such a parliamentary vote as “self-evident” following Friday s rebellion when almost a third of Syriza deputies abstained or voted against the agreement.
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With Syriza’s left wing showing little sign of returning to the party fold, Skourletis also raised the possibility of early elections should Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras lose a confidence motion. Mr Tsipras had to rely on the pro-Eurozone opposition party to get the deal passed in the Parliament.
Syriza’s coalition government with the small nationalist Independent Greeks was premised on a pledge to repeal austerity measures tied to Greece’s two previous worldwide bailouts.
Early elections in Greece are “imperative” to maintain the country’s political stability as it begins to implement an unpopular third debt bailout, a government minister said Monday.
Greece imposed capital controls and ordered banks to shut temporarily on June 29, after the European Central Bank had refused to increase emergency funding to the lenders following a breakdown of bailout talks between Athens and foreign creditors.
The stand taken by the prime minister is in stark contrast with his stance when he was voted into power.
Collapsing political support in Greece comes in the same week that a host of eurozone parliaments are set to vote on a deal to release up to €86bn to the near-bankrupt country.
However, the government was only able to pass the agreement – by 222 MPs in favor, 64 against and with 14 abstentions – with the help of opposition votes. He noted that the bailout meant the situation had now changed compared to when Syriza initially won its popular mandate.
Dozens of Syriza lawmakers dissented and voted against the government.
On Sunday, Greece’s socialist PASOK party joined the main conservative opposition in saying it would not back Tsipras in any confidence vote.
If many vote against, they will bring down the government.
Elections would be held three to four weeks after being declared.
A vote by the end of October, on the other hand, could allow Tsipras to benefit from a glowing first report from the creditors – but this could prove detrimental if it allowed his high popularity ratings to slip as the first reforms bite.
“Such a major numeric loss of parliamentary majority is unprecedented”, said Skourletis, a former spokesman for Tsipras. “I think such a goal is attainable”, he said, playing down the possibility of post-election collaboration with the likes of New Democracy, PASOK and Potami, a pro-European centrist party.
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“We look forward to working closely with Greece and its European partners in the coming months to put in place all the elements needed for me to recommend to the Fund’s executive board to consider further financial support for Greece“.
