Tsipras Survives Austerity Vote, Paving Way for Loan Tranche
- PM Tsipras secures support for more belt-tightening measures
- Approval of reforms was prerequisite to unlocking funds
Greek lawmakers on Sunday approved additional austerity measures required to unlock more emergency loans from the euro area, ahead of a meeting of finance ministers that will assess the country’s compliance with its bailout program and determine the scope for debt relief.
Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras secured backing for a series of measures ranging from the taxation of clothing made from crocodile skin to the sale of bad loans to distressed debt funds, after winning the support of all 153 lawmakers from the governing Syriza and Independent Greeks parties in the 300-seat chamber. Syriza lawmaker Vasiliki Katrivanou, who voted against articles of the bill setting up a new privatization fund and creating a fiscal break mechanism, said in a post on her Facebook page that she will give up her seat in parliament. A runner up from Tsipras’s party in her constituency will replace her.