Greek lawmakers began another emergency debate yesterday on further economic reforms demanded by international creditors in return for a new bailout — a vote that could threaten the survival of the coalition government and trigger fresh fears over the country’s future in the euro.
The vote later on changes to the judicial and banking sectors is one of the requirements that Greece’s European creditors insisted upon for negotiations on a third bailout worth about 85 billion euros (US$93 billion) to begin.
After losing the support of a large chunk of his own party’s lawmakers during a vote last week on a creditor-demanded austerity measures, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras is having to rely on support from pro-European opposition parties to gain parliamentary approval.
Negotiations with creditors are expected to start soon after the vote later. The Greek government’s hope is that they conclude before Aug. 20, when Greece must repay loans worth more than 3 billion euros to the European Central Bank.
The measures demanded by creditors for a bailout have caused much consternation within Tsipras’ SYRIZA party. Many, including former Greek minister of finance Yanis Varoufakis, voted against last week’s austerity measures, which included big increases to sales taxes that came into effect at the start of this week. If more than a handful more dissent later, then Tsipras’ government could be in peril.
The party’s traditional base within the trade union movement is also angry at what it sees as Tsipras’ betrayal of his electoral mandate. A union representing civil servants is planning an anti-government protest outside parliament before the vote that is expected at about midnight.
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