German Chancellor Angela Merkel attends a debate at the German parliament prior to a vote on another bailout package for Greece, in the German Bundestag in Berlin
Germany’s parliament overwhelmingly approved a third bailout for Greece yesterday, removing a key hurdle to providing new loans to the country and keeping it from defaulting on its debts in as little as 24 hours.
The vote’s result also seemed to dispel any speculation that Chancellor Angela Merkel would have difficulty getting her conservative bloc to sign on. Lawmakers voted 454-113 in favor, with 18 abstentions.
The approval is among the last due from parliaments across Europe, with the Dutch scheduled to vote later yesterday, after which Greece is expected to get the first installment of its new 86 billion euro (USD95 billion) loans package.
The country needs the cash to make a debt repayment today. The board of the European bailout fund that will disburse the money was set to hold a teleconference yesterday night to discuss the matter.
The German approval was never in doubt but in a similar vote last month, 60 members of Merkel’s conservative bloc voted against and some local media had speculated that even more could rebel this time as Germans are increasingly skeptical about giving Greece more money.
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.
German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble, a senior member of Merkel’s Christian Democratic Party who has been one of the harshest critics of Greece, may have helped the cause as he lobbied hard ahead of the vote for the passage of Greek’s third bailout in five years.
Schaeuble told lawmakers that approval of the three-year loan package is “in the interest of Greece and the interest of Europe.” He noted that the Greek government has taken big steps over the past few weeks to restore trust with its creditors.
Schaeuble conceded that voting in favor of the bailout wasn’t an easy one for him, but that “it would be irresponsible to not use the chance for a new beginning in Greece” in light of the fact that the Greek parliament has already backed a large chunk of reform measures demanded by creditors.
Germany is the largest single contributor to the bailouts and many in Schaeuble’s party remain skeptical. Merkel’s coalition partner, the Social Democrats, and the opposition Greens also backed the deal.
Under the terms of the deal, Greece has to make further spending cuts and tax increases and implement big reforms to its economy. Kirsten Grieshaber and David Rising, Berlin, AP
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