Faced with opposition to a new Greek bailout at home and abroad, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras on Wednesday expressed confidence that the deal would gain approval in what promises to be a tough vote in Greece’s Parliament in the coming hours.

“Despite the obstacles that some are trying to put before us, I’m optimistic we will reach the agreement and loan support from the European mechanism, which will put a final end to economic uncertainty,” Tsipras said during a visit to the Economy Ministry, referring to a multi-billion-euro loan program that Greece and its creditors agreed to earlier this week.

The agreement was reached despite strong skepticism in Germany and other eurozone states. “Some want to use Greece as a pretext to reorder the eurozone,” Tsipras said. “We will prove wrong those who doubt us and we will manage to rebuild the country.”

In Berlin, the government cautiously welcomed the deal, even after German Chancellor Angela Merkel is said to have made quite clear to Tsipras Germany’s preference for a bridge loan. Merkel’s spokesman Steffen Seibert said the deal “goes in the right direction” but that it was “not yet possible to say” whether it was ready for a vote in the Bundestag.

In a related development, Tsipras’s office said that European Parliament President Martin Schulz told the Greek leader he would “publicly call” on the German government and Parliament to approve the deal.

Before the deal goes to the Bundestag it must pass through Greece’s Parliament in a vote expected in the early hours of Friday morning. With opposition party support, the bill is all but certain to pass.

But if the number of SYRIZA MPs who break ranks with the government is larger than the last vote in Parliament, Tsipras may call snap elections for September.

There was speculation Wednesday that SYRIZA’s radical Left Platform will very soon announce that it is forming a new party. SYRIZA MP and former minister Costas Isichos said the vote would lead to an “immediate divorce.” He added that “we are facing major political developments where the ‘no’ front will take shape,” referring to the outcome of last month’s referendum on austerity.

Greece debt crisis: Varoufakis says bailout ‘won’t work’

Former Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis has said the latest Greek bailout deal “is not going to work”.

Mr Varoufakis, speaking on the BBC’s World at One, said that others negotiators in Tuesday’s agreement felt the same way.

He said: “The Greek finance minister… says more or less the same thing.

He added that he had seen the “finance minister of Germany go to the Bundestag and effectively confess this deal is not going to work”.

“The International Monetary Fund… is throwing up its hands collectively despairing at a programme that is simply founded on unsustainable debt… and yet this is a programme that everybody is working towards implementing.”

Mr Varoufakis was removed from the talks early last month and replaced by the present finance minister Euclid Tsakolotos.

He added: “Ask anyone who knows anything about Greece’s finances and they will tell you this deal is not going to work,”

Tsipras ‘optimistic’

But Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said on Wednesday that the deal would end the country’s economic uncertainty.

Mr Tsipras is expected to call a emergency session of parliament on Thursday to ratify the bailout.

He faces opposition from many hardliners in his radical left Syriza party who oppose the austerity measures included in the deal.

Mr Tsipras said: “Despite the obstacles that some are trying to put into our path, I’m optimistic we will get to an agreement, loan support from the European mechanism, which will put a final end to economic uncertainty.”

Greece must repay some €3.4bn to the ECB by next Thursday. If the deal is not finalised by then Athens may need more emergency funding.

Eurozone finance ministers are expected to meet at the weekend to endorse the draft deal.

However, many member states believe more negotiating has to be done. On Tuesday, Finnish Finance Minister Alexander Stubb said: “There remains work to be done with details. Agreement is a big word.”

The German government has welcomed Tuesday’s deal calling it a “substantial result”.

But it said it must study the deal further before deciding whether it was ready for approval by the German parliament. Source: BBC

Source: ekathimerini – Tension rises ahead of vote on third bailout

---