The German parliament has backed the extension of the Greek bailout by four months with an overwhelming majority – the biggest yet of any Bundestag vote on measures to fight the European debt crisis.
But in a sign of growing scepticism over Greece’s financial aid package within Germany, 29 MPs from Angela Merkel’s CDU/CSU bloc rebelled and voted against the plan. A total of 542 MPs voted in favour, with just 32 MPs voting against and 13 abstaining.
The finance minister, Wolfgang Schäuble, admitted at the start of the session: “This is not an easy decision for any parliament member.” He also told MPs that Greece is not getting more money.
“We’re not talking about new billions for Greece, we’re not talking about any changes to this programme – rather it’s about providing or granting extra time to successfully end this programme.”
The extension will give Greece breathing space to hammer out a new reform programme with the much-loathed troika – the EU, IMF and European Central Bank. The bailout would otherwise expire on Saturday.
The Bundestag vote was important because Germany is the dominant force in the eurozone. It means that Greece now has until the end of June to satisfy its lenders, before it can receive the final payment from its bailout programme, worth €7.2bn (£5.2bn).
Greece’s financial position is still precarious, as it must repay a €1.6bn IMF loan in March and €7.5bn of maturing bonds held by the ECB in July and August.
The European Financial Stability Facility’s board of directors has officially extended the Greece bailout until 30 June. So far, the EFSF has handed €141.bn in financial assistance to Greece.
Friday’s vote came after a small group of protesters attacked cars and shops in Athens, after the first anti-government demonstrations since the leftwing Syriza goverment swept to power a month ago.
Kicking off a lively parliamentary debate that frequently featured the word solidarity from across the political spectrum, Schäuble stressed: “Greece has to do its bit. Solidarity has something to do with reliability.”
Schäuble won much applause from MPs when he insisted that Germany must do everything it can to hold Europe together. The Left and the Green parties had previously signalled their support alongside the parliamentary groups of the ruling CDU/CSU and SPD parties.
Gregor Gysi of Die Linke (Left) party said Greece’s “kamikaze policy” of austerity must be changed. Meanwhile, Carsten Schneider of the SPD (Social Democrats) said that wealthy Greeks must make a bigger contribution to the country’s finances, and also acknowledged that Greece may need a third bailout.
Referring to the Greek prime minister and finance minister, Klaus-Peter Willsch of Merkel’s CDU party, who opposed the bailout extension, said: “Look at Tsipras, look at Varoufakis, would you buy a used-car from these men?”.
Thursday’s edition of Bild carried a giant “Nein!” headline, adding: “No more billions for the greedy Greeks!’’ The newspaper asked readers to send selfies posing alongside its declaration.
Holding up the page, SPD MP Axel Schäfer said: “We do not support campaigns against other countries.”
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