Greece’s Parliament passed austerity measures needed to secure a fresh bailout, but a rebellion within the ruling Syriza party is testing whether Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras can hold his government together as he seeks to complete the deal. The measures, which include steep spending cuts and tax increases, were approved early Thursday by 229 lawmakers in the country’s 300-seat Parliament, many of them opposition lawmakers. Among the 149 lawmakers in Mr. Tsipras’s left-wing Syriza party, 32 voted against the deal—including former finance chief Yanis Varoufakis—and six abstained.To counter the rebellion within his party, the Greek premier is expected to announce a cabinet shake-up on Thursday, according to government officials. But it remains uncertain how long Mr. Tsipras can continue in office without calling new elections. The vote “is a serious division in Syriza’s parliamentary group,” said a government spokesman. “The basic priority of the prime minister and the government is the successful completion of the agreement in the coming period.” Meanwhile Firebombs thrown by furious anti-austerity protesters exploded in front of Greece’s parliament Wednesday as anger over a new bailout deal spilled onto the streets of the capital.”We have been betrayed!” shouted a man in a balaclava, as police used pepper spray and gas to stop a crowd breaching a security line blocking off the road to the prime minister’s office.The violence erupted on the sidelines of a rally of 12,500 people opposed to the passage of the reforms which many fear will increase suffering in the already debt-laden country. The government of Alexis Tsipras in Athens came to power promising to do almost the exact opposite of what he has now persuaded his parliament to approve. His deputy finance minister resigned as a matter of principle, and 40 of his MPs did not vote for the measures. Mr Tsipras is still in power, but he leads a minority government. Even if the package, worth €7 billion in the very short term, is approved across the EU member states, it is going to take months to implement, affecting, as it does, state pensions, Sunday trading and increases in VAT among a minefield of other unpopular issues. Beyond the short term, the bailout is worth €86 billion assuming the Eurozone members all agree to put money in the pot — and the IMF, one of Greece’s creditors — is not at all happy with the deal. It wants debt relief and restructuring rather than more debt, which on past performances is unlikely to be paid. There are few choices left for Mr Tsipras. He could eject the ‘objectors’ in a cabinet reshuffle, but unless the European Central Bank props up the Greek banks in the next few days, people, ordinary people, are going to start running out of cash and food insecurity is an imminent threat for many.
pk.shafaqna.com
Greece crisis: Unless the European Central Bank props up people will continue to suffer
