Greek PM wins trust vote after Macedonia name row

Athens: Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras on Wednesday survived a confidence vote after a row over a landmark name deal with Macedonia sunk his four-year coalition.

A total of 151 lawmakers supported Tsipras' government out of 299 present, including several independent MPs, the official count showed.

"Parliament today gave a vote of confidence to stability (and) the effort to regain the country's international credibility," Tsipras told reporters after the vote.

"To a government which has already changed Greece and will continue until the completion of its constitutionally-mandated term," he said.

Despite the victory, the subsequent fate of Tsipras' government -- and whether he will complete his four-year term which ends in September -- is far from certain. The PM now faces an immediate challenge to also push through parliament the controversial name deal with neighbouring Macedonia, which has sparked protests in both countries.

In a speech to parliament on Tuesday, the 44-year-old leftist leader insisted his government "has another nine months and very important tasks to carry out," pointing to elections in October.

Among his goals are a revision of the constitution, a minimum wage increase and the completion of a property deal with the church that was recently blocked by senior bishops.

"We do not seek (the support of) 151 lawmakers just to complete our term, but in order to carry out specific political initiatives," government spokesman Dimitris Tzanakopoulos told Open TV on Wednesday.