CONFIDENCE VOTE:GREECE'S NEW prime minister received the overwhelming endorsement of the country's MPs in a confidence vote taken in his new government yesterday.
Closing the three-day debate, Lucas Papademos said every vote for his new government was a vote to keep Greece in the euro zone and for the country’s economic recovery.
“Dealing with Greece’s problems will be more difficult if we are not a member of the euro zone,” said Mr Papademos, a former Greek and European central banker. “There are no magic solutions,” he added.
After the vote, Mr Papademos held a meeting with Charles Dallara, head of the Institute of International Finance, a lobby group of the world’s leading financial institutions, to discuss a bond swap plan for Greek public debt.
The 50 per cent debt writedown is a key component in the second Greek bailout plan, worth €130 billion, agreed by Eurogroup ministers on October 27th in Brussels.
Seven MPs were absent for the early evening vote, which saw 255 MPs voting in favour and 38 against the three-party interim government.
Three MPs from parties participating in the coalition voted against the government. The sole New Democracy MP to do so was expelled from his parliamentary party afterwards.
Two Pasok MPs also voted No, with one of them describing the participation of four members of the far-right Popular Orthodox Rally as a “red line”.
“I cannot go hand-in-hand with those who undermine the composition of Greek society with their far-right rhetoric,” said Cetin Mandaci, a member of the Turkish-speaking Muslim minority of the northeastern prefecture of Thrace.
Today, the anniversary of the bloody suppression by the junta then in power of a student revolt in 1973, is expected to see thousands of demonstrators take to the streets of Athens and other cities, with many using the occasion to protest against a series of tax hikes and new levies.
Yesterday, the health ministry was left in the dark for four hours after power workers cut off its electricity supply in a protest over a new property tax being levied through electricity bills.
The government has said those who fail to pay the tax will have their electricity disconnected, but union leader Nikos Fotopoulos pledged his members will “prevent, in any way we can, the cutting off of power to the houses of the poor, the unemployed, pensioners and the low paid”.
New Democracy leader Antonis Samaras repeated his demand for pro-growth policies to revive an economy shattered by four years of recession, and reaffirmed his refusal to sign the pledge demanded by the European Commission, which fears Greek backsliding on reforms.
“If there is something that we all agree on, of course we will vote for it,” Mr Samaras told parliament.
“But we are making clear we won’t approve anything we disagree with,” he said. – (Additional reporting Reuters)