ATHENS: Greece Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras (right) arrives at his office in Maximos Mansion in Athens, Greece, on July 15, 2015. Photo: Jean-Paul Pelissier
Athens – Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras battled to win lawmakers’ approval on Wednesday for a bailout deal to keep Greece in the euro and avoid bankruptcy, as the IMF pressured Greece’s creditors to provide massive debt relief for its crippled economy. Having reluctantly agreed terms for negotiations on a third bailout from international lenders, Tsipras must face down a rebellion in his anti-austerity Syriza party to push sweeping pro-market reforms and spending cuts through parliament.
Dozens of MPs, including senior Syriza figures and the government’s junior coalition partner, could reject or partially reject the bailout, forcing Tsipras to rely on pro-European opposition lawmakers to carry the vote, which is expected after midnight.
A snap election could follow if the prime minister’s majority collapses. Adding to the uncertainty, a newly released study by the International Monetary Fund called for much more debt relief than European countries, particularly Germany, have been prepared to countenance so far. Tsipras has described the deal as a “one-way street” imposed on Greece and the rest of his government shared his scepticism.
