Vote of confidence slated for Wednesday night, with debate to begin Tuesday morning
A vote of confidence in the Greek government is to take place on Wednesday night after two days of debate beginning on Tuesday at 10 a.m., Parliament speakers decided on Monday.
Shortly after Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras called for a confidence vote on Sunday, in the wake of the resignation of his coalition partner Independent Greeks leader Panos Kammenos, Parliament Speaker Nikos Voutsis proposed two days of debate from Tuesday morning rather than the usual three.
Tsipras’s leftist SYRIZA party has 145 seats in the 300-seat parliament and the support of one independent lawmaker.
The prime minister needs the support of at least five more deputies to win Wednesday’s confidence vote.
On Monday, Tourism Minister Elena Kountoura and another lawmaker from the Independent Greeks party said they would support Tsipras during the vote. Kammenos expelled both of them from his parliamentary group.
Even if Tsipras prevails in the confidence vote, political uncertainty will increase as the government will have to rely on the backing of lawmakers outside his leftist Syriza party to push through legislative initiatives.
Tsipras hopes to bring the Macedonia name deal to parliament after the confidence vote, if he wins it, and to complete planned reforms before the next election. His current mandate ends in October.
[Kathimerini, Reuters]
