Greece approved on Monday a contentious reform bill to secure bailout aid but the government was forced to expel a dissenting lawmaker, reducing its majority in parliament to just two seats. A total of 152 lawmakers backed the bill, which incorporates into Greek law hundreds of reform measures Athens agreed earlier this month with the European Union and the International Monetary Fund after more than six months of tough negotiations.
The passage allows Athens to obtain loans to repay 9.3 billion euros of debt maturing in May, but left the fragile pro-bailout government with a new headache as three deputies refused to vote or voted against key articles in the bill. ‘It was a tough but crucial bill for the country’s future; the lawmakers stood up to the challenge,’ Finance Minister Yannis Stournaras told reporters after the vote.
Prime Minister Antonis Samaras expelled one lawmaker who failed to back one article, while the Socialist PASOK party, one of the two ruling parties, was facing a new crisis after one of its lawmakers did not vote and another voted against an article. PASOK, a once-powerful party that has been virtually decimated following Greece’s debt crisis and has little room for manoeuvre, did not expel the two lawmakers but admonished them.
In practice, the government needs only 148 votes to pass bills in the 300-seat assembly since six lawmakers from the far-right Golden Dawn party are in custody pending trial. But losing any more deputies would be a clear setback for a government under pressure to show Greeks an unpopular austerity recipe is bringing the country back on the road to recovery.
The passage allows Athens to obtain loans to repay 9.3 billion euros of debt maturing in May, but left the fragile pro-bailout government with a new headache as three deputies refused to vote or voted against key articles in the bill. ‘It was a tough but crucial bill for the country’s future; the lawmakers stood up to the challenge,’ Finance Minister Yannis Stournaras told reporters after the vote.
Prime Minister Antonis Samaras expelled one lawmaker who failed to back one article, while the Socialist PASOK party, one of the two ruling parties, was facing a new crisis after one of its lawmakers did not vote and another voted against an article. PASOK, a once-powerful party that has been virtually decimated following Greece’s debt crisis and has little room for manoeuvre, did not expel the two lawmakers but admonished them.
In practice, the government needs only 148 votes to pass bills in the 300-seat assembly since six lawmakers from the far-right Golden Dawn party are in custody pending trial. But losing any more deputies would be a clear setback for a government under pressure to show Greeks an unpopular austerity recipe is bringing the country back on the road to recovery.