The Greek parliament has approved a stringent bailout programme, thanks to the votes of the pro-European opposition.
The vote took place amongst some of the worst political violence Greece has seen this year. As the debate raged, protesters threw petrol bombs at police, who responded with tear gas.
Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras won the vote, with 229 MPs voting yes, and just 64 voting no. Athens has now given the green light for the plan to go ahead, meaning the eurozone should finalise a $7 billion loan today and permit banks to reopen after nearly three weeks closure.
However, Tsipras himself didn’t fare well, after 40 of his own MPs voted against the plan saying they weren’t prepared to support measures that they promised they would stand against. Prominent No voters included energy minister Panagiotis Lafazanis, former finance minister Yanis Varoufakis and Parliamentary speaker Zoe Konstantopoulou. Tsipras is clinging onto power for now, and a cabinet reshuffle is to be expected in the next few days.
All 28 EU countries are expected to contribute to the bailout, including reluctant non-euro members Britain and the Czech Republic, after a compromise was found and their contributions were promised to be ring-fenced by euro funds.
