Greek Govt pips Parliament hurdle to bailout talks with finance sharks
24 July 2015 5:35 AM IST
Greece’s radical left-led government survived another revolt by rebels in the early hours of Thursday, passing reforms that should pave the way for the imminent start of bailout discussions with European creditors. The reforms to the judiciary and banking systems were the final hurdle the country had to clear before talks can start over a third bailout worth around 85 billion euros ($93 billion).
Without <g data-gr-id="50">money</g> Greece would be unable to pay the debts due over the coming three years and would likely be forced to leave the euro, Europe’s shared currency. Discussions over the details of the bailout programme, which will involve economic targets as well as potential debt relief for Greece, should begin “as swiftly as possible,” according to the European Union’s executive commission.
The hope on both sides is that the discussions will conclude by August 20, when Greece has a payment of a little more than 3 billion euros ($3.2 billion) due to the European Central Bank. The European Commission welcomed the Greek Parliament’s vote in favour of further reforms, saying it had taken “another important step toward implementing its commitments” made during a summit of European leaders last week.
Lawmakers voted 230-63 in favour of the measures, following a whirlwind debate that ended at 4 am (0630 IST). Another five members of the 300-seat house voted present, a kind of abstention.
Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras was unable to forestall a second revolt in a week among his Syriza party lawmakers, but had no trouble passing the draft legislation with the backing of pro-European Opposition parties.
Government spokeswoman Olga Gerovasili conceded there is a clear rift within Syriza, but would not say whether rebels would be expelled. Tsipras has accused party critics of acting irresponsibly. “From this point on, party procedures will be followed in order to deal with the problem,” she said after the vote.
The number of disaffected Syriza lawmakers, who see the reforms as a betrayal of the anti-austerity platform that brought their party to power in January, shrunk slightly compared to last week’s similar vote, from 38 to 36. Former finance minister Yanis Varoufakis voted in favour this time following his vote against last week’s austerity measures, which included big increases in sales taxes.
Though the number of rebels diminished, it’s still roughly a quarter of all party lawmakers.
Thousands of anti-austerity protesters had gathered in Athens as lawmakers prepared to vote on a second batch of reforms that must pass if Greece is to unlock a huge international bailout. The demonstrators gathered outside parliament to protest against the cash-for-reforms deal, according to police.
Members of the Communist-affiliated PAME trade union made up the bulk of the crowd.
Spectre of Recession & austerity returning
Running a business in Koukaki is becoming a struggle. <g data-gr-id="80">Shop-owners</g> in the central Athens neighbourhood, one of the capital city’s most financially diverse, are finding it a lot more difficult to get by. They could be cutting hair or selling extra-large shirts, it makes no difference. Their tales of hardship can be repeated up and down the country of nearly 11 million people. Empty storefronts are again a feature of Greece’s towns and cities amid a crisis that put Greece’s future in the euro in doubt.
The downturn worsened after the late-June decision by the Greek government to impose a series of strict controls on the free flow of money, with a paltry 60-euro a day limit on daily withdrawals from ATMs. Though banks reopened this week for the first time in more than three weeks, the ATM withdrawal limit is unchanged and cash is becoming scarce. For an economy where cash payments are the norm, that’s a problem.
In Koukaki, about 2 kilometers south of downtown Athens, 65-year-old mechanic Giorgos Prasinoudis is angry. His wife and 11-year-old daughter have already moved to Germany, the country that’s ironically blamed for many of the economic and social problems afflicting Greece.
He sat drinking coffee on the sidewalk outside his motorcycle repair shop, with posters of bikes and children’s drawings pinned to the wall. He’s closed the store after 32 years. A “For Sale” sign is taped to the window. “It’s over for Greece. We won’t recover for another 50 years,” he said.
“The country borrowed so much money, those who benefited left the country, and ordinary people have been handed the bill... I hope my daughter learns German and doesn’t come back. Not even for a holiday.”
Prasinoudis is one of the countless victims of Greece’s economic crisis. Locked out of international bond markets in the spring of 2010, the country has relied on foreign rescue money to pay its debts — on condition that tough austerity measures were imposed.
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