Athens : Greece’s parliament passed legislation on a second batch of reforms needed to help unlock a huge international bailout for the country’s stricken economy.
The bill passed by a resounding 230 votes out of the 298 members of parliament present, after a marathon debate stretching into the early hours that nonetheless exposed deep divisions in the governing Syriza party. The legislation covers changes to the civil justice system, a bank deposit protection scheme and measures to shore up the liquidity of Greece’s banks — reforms that had to pass if Athens was to move forward in bailout negotiations with its creditors.
While the new law will come as a relief to Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras — who is negotiating a new bailout worth up to 86 billion euros (USD 93 billion) over three years — it saw him suffer a major rebellion amongst MPs in his leftist Syriza party for the second time in a week. Thursday’s vote was seen as a key test of Tsipras’ authority.
