Government should call confidence vote and aim for strong support, says state minister
State Minister Alekos Flambouraris believes the government should call a confidence vote in Parliament but insisted that it does not want Greece to head to early elections.
Flambouraris, however, suggested that if the confidence vote does take place Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras will be looking for broad support from the coalition MPs.
“We are asking all the 162 MPs to support the government,” he told Mega TV. “If that happens, we can avoid [early] elections.”
Flambouraris indicated that even 151 votes would not be considered enough.
“Either we get a majority that will lead the country to elections in 3.5 years or we go to elections now so people can have their say,” added the minister.
“The government does not want elections but will call them as soon as possible if it needs to.”
Tsipras is not expected to make a decision on a confidence vote until after August 20, when Greece is due to receive its first tranche from the third bailout approved by the Greek Parliament and the Eurogroup last week.
