Tsipras likely to call confidence vote after party revolt

The Greek government appears likely to call a confidence vote following a rebellion among lawmakers from the ruling Syriza party over the country’s new bailout deal, senior ministers said on Monday. Energy Minister Panos Skourletis described such a parliamentary vote as “self-evident” following Friday’s rebellion when almost a third of Syriza deputies abstained or voted against the agreement. With Syriza’s left wing showing little sign of returning to the party fold, Skourletis also raised the possibility of early elections should Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras lose a confidence motion.

I consider it self-evident after the deep wound in Syriza’s parliamentary group for there to be such a move.

Energy Minister Panos Skourletis

On Sunday, Greece’s socialist PASOK party joined the main conservative opposition in saying it would not back Tsipras in any confidence vote. PASOK made clear that while it had backed the government over the bailout for the sake of saving Greece from financial ruin, that support would not continue. Tsipras fired his last energy minister Panagiotis Lafazanis for joining a previous rebellion. Lafazanis now leads Syriza members who oppose the conditions that Tsipras had to accept in return for the €86 billion ($95 billion) in loans. Last week, Lafazanis took a step toward breaking away from Syriza, a coalition of the radical left, by calling for a new anti-bailout movement. The chances that the hard left wing will relent and rally behind Tsipras in a confidence vote look slim.

To implement such a serious programme with painful measures, you cannot do that without a popular mandate.

Health Minister Panagiotis Kouroublis

Tsipras vote Europe