Politics
The Greek government criticized rebels within its ranks intent on opposing a new bailout deal in Thursday night's parliamentary vote, saying a government without a majority "cannot go far" and raising the possibility of early elections, reports Reuters.
With opposition support, parliament is preparing to approve the 85 billion euro ($94.44 billion) bailout deal that Greece needs to avoid defaulting on a debt repayment next week.
The debate will begin late and is expected to go on overnight and well into Friday's early hours.
The agreement is expected to pass easily since opposition parties have promised their backing for Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras to ensure Greece does not return to financial chaos.
But the vote will test the strength of a rebellion by anti-austerity lawmakers of Tsipras's leftist Syriza party, which could raise pressure on him to call snap elections as early as September.
Government spokeswoman Olga Gerovasili said that after the parliamentary vote, the focus would shift to a meeting of euro zone finance ministers on Friday who must also back the bailout, Greece's third in the past five years.
However, she acknowledged there would be a parliamentary rebellion and signaled that the government would struggle in the coming months if Syriza remained disunited.
"It is known that some Syriza lawmakers will not vote in favor of the accord," she told Mega TV. "A government that does not have a governing majority cannot go far."
Far-left members of Syriza insist the government should stand by the promises on which it was elected in January to reverse waves of spending cuts and tax rises imposed since 2010, which have had a devastating effect on an already weak economy.
