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| Germany Votes to Move Ahead With Greek Bailout, but Opposition Grows | Germany Votes to Move Ahead With Greek Bailout, but Opposition Grows |
| (6 months later) | |
| BERLIN — German lawmakers on Friday approved entering into detailed negotiations for a Greek bailout amid a simmering international debate over providing more debt relief to Athens and intensifying questions about whether Greece would be better off leaving the European common currency. | BERLIN — German lawmakers on Friday approved entering into detailed negotiations for a Greek bailout amid a simmering international debate over providing more debt relief to Athens and intensifying questions about whether Greece would be better off leaving the European common currency. |
| With resistance to providing more help to Greece growing among conservatives, 439 lawmakers voted in favor of moving ahead with the bailout deal European leaders negotiated last weekend in Brussels. There were 119 votes against, and 40 legislators abstained. | With resistance to providing more help to Greece growing among conservatives, 439 lawmakers voted in favor of moving ahead with the bailout deal European leaders negotiated last weekend in Brussels. There were 119 votes against, and 40 legislators abstained. |
| Chancellor Angela Merkel and her finance minister, Wolfgang Schäuble, had urged Parliament to back the bailout, which both called “a last attempt” to order Greece’s finances and build a functioning state. It would be Greece’s third bailout in five years, and it was negotiated with the goal of keeping the country in the eurozone. | Chancellor Angela Merkel and her finance minister, Wolfgang Schäuble, had urged Parliament to back the bailout, which both called “a last attempt” to order Greece’s finances and build a functioning state. It would be Greece’s third bailout in five years, and it was negotiated with the goal of keeping the country in the eurozone. |
| But a breakdown of the vote showed that 60 members of Ms. Merkel’s conservative bloc voted against starting talks on a new package, that five abstained and that four did not vote. The size of that opposition was double the size in February, when Parliament had last voted on Greek debt relief. At the time, 29 deputies opposed the measure, and three abstained. | But a breakdown of the vote showed that 60 members of Ms. Merkel’s conservative bloc voted against starting talks on a new package, that five abstained and that four did not vote. The size of that opposition was double the size in February, when Parliament had last voted on Greek debt relief. At the time, 29 deputies opposed the measure, and three abstained. |
| The chancellor, who turned 61 on Friday, used her statement to review the past six months, in which Greece’s situation deteriorated rapidly. By the time European leaders gathered last weekend in Brussels for a marathon session that ended with an agreement to demand strict conditions of Greece before providing it with new aid, it was not just Greece’s fate at stake, she said. | The chancellor, who turned 61 on Friday, used her statement to review the past six months, in which Greece’s situation deteriorated rapidly. By the time European leaders gathered last weekend in Brussels for a marathon session that ended with an agreement to demand strict conditions of Greece before providing it with new aid, it was not just Greece’s fate at stake, she said. |
| “The alternative to this agreement would not have been an orderly exit from the euro, one that Greece wanted and was drawn up by everybody, but predictable chaos,” Ms. Merkel said. | “The alternative to this agreement would not have been an orderly exit from the euro, one that Greece wanted and was drawn up by everybody, but predictable chaos,” Ms. Merkel said. |
| Separately on Friday, the European Union agreed to provide Athens with a short-term loan of 7.16 billion euros, or about $7.8 billion, to prevent it from defaulting on earlier loans that it is to repay by Monday. | Separately on Friday, the European Union agreed to provide Athens with a short-term loan of 7.16 billion euros, or about $7.8 billion, to prevent it from defaulting on earlier loans that it is to repay by Monday. |
| Another default, including €4.25 billion owed to the European Central Bank, would have dashed Greece’s hope of reopening its banks, which have been closed since June 29, and of restoring some stability to its crumbling finances. | Another default, including €4.25 billion owed to the European Central Bank, would have dashed Greece’s hope of reopening its banks, which have been closed since June 29, and of restoring some stability to its crumbling finances. |
| Greece also won tentative support on Friday from the European Stability Mechanism, the eurozone rescue fund in Luxembourg that is expected to issue new loans to Greece as part of a long-term program. The group said in a statement on Friday that its governors had endorsed a new program in principle and that aid would be contingent on a final agreement between Greece and its eurozone creditors. | Greece also won tentative support on Friday from the European Stability Mechanism, the eurozone rescue fund in Luxembourg that is expected to issue new loans to Greece as part of a long-term program. The group said in a statement on Friday that its governors had endorsed a new program in principle and that aid would be contingent on a final agreement between Greece and its eurozone creditors. |
| In making her case to the German Parliament on Friday, Ms. Merkel acknowledged conservative doubts that the program would suffice to stabilize Greece enough that it could afford to repay its public debt of more than 300 billion euros, or about $330 billion. But for the sake of the Greek people, of Germany and of European unity, she said, it must be tried. | In making her case to the German Parliament on Friday, Ms. Merkel acknowledged conservative doubts that the program would suffice to stabilize Greece enough that it could afford to repay its public debt of more than 300 billion euros, or about $330 billion. But for the sake of the Greek people, of Germany and of European unity, she said, it must be tried. |
| “We would be grossly negligent, even irresponsible, if we did not at least try this path,” Ms. Merkel said. | “We would be grossly negligent, even irresponsible, if we did not at least try this path,” Ms. Merkel said. |
| Her government’s commitment to the bailout plan was called into question on Thursday, when Mr. | |
| Schäuble suggested that Greece’s best opportunity for a debt reduction of the scale that it wants and needs would come only if it left the eurozone for some time. He made his statement just hours after the Greek Parliament had lived up to its initial commitment under the deal, passing a new set of austerity measures the creditors had demanded, over the objections of the leftist Syriza party of Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras. | |
| That vote continued to have repercussions in Athens, where Mr. Tsipras tried to give his beleaguered administration a boost on Friday by conducting a partial reshuffle of his cabinet and replacing a handful of ministers who broke ranks with the government. | That vote continued to have repercussions in Athens, where Mr. Tsipras tried to give his beleaguered administration a boost on Friday by conducting a partial reshuffle of his cabinet and replacing a handful of ministers who broke ranks with the government. |
| The reorganization followed a meeting with Syriza lawmakers, in which Mr. Tsipras told the 32 who voted against the measures — as well as six who abstained and one who was not present for the vote — that the split was “an open wound in our party at a critical time.” | The reorganization followed a meeting with Syriza lawmakers, in which Mr. Tsipras told the 32 who voted against the measures — as well as six who abstained and one who was not present for the vote — that the split was “an open wound in our party at a critical time.” |
| Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos and other key officials, including in the ministries of interior, defense and foreign affairs, kept their posts. But changes were made within the energy, labor, social security, defense and finance ministries. Mr. Tsipris also announced the creation of a special committee for tackling graft. | Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos and other key officials, including in the ministries of interior, defense and foreign affairs, kept their posts. But changes were made within the energy, labor, social security, defense and finance ministries. Mr. Tsipris also announced the creation of a special committee for tackling graft. |
| In Germany’s parliamentary debate on Friday, Mr. Schäuble did not repeat his suggestion that Greece might be better off leaving the eurozone. But in a fiery address, he emphasized that the negotiations on a third bailout were “a last attempt to solve the extraordinarily difficult task” of restoring lasting financial stability to Greece. | In Germany’s parliamentary debate on Friday, Mr. Schäuble did not repeat his suggestion that Greece might be better off leaving the eurozone. But in a fiery address, he emphasized that the negotiations on a third bailout were “a last attempt to solve the extraordinarily difficult task” of restoring lasting financial stability to Greece. |
| The debate over whether to back a third bailout for Greece has divided Germans, and many fear they are throwing money into a black hole. An opinion poll for the German broadcaster ARD showed that 49 percent of those surveyed wanted their lawmakers to vote against the next round of negotiations, while 46 percent urged Parliament to support it. The poll of 1,029 people was conducted by Infratest dimap from Monday to Wednesday. | The debate over whether to back a third bailout for Greece has divided Germans, and many fear they are throwing money into a black hole. An opinion poll for the German broadcaster ARD showed that 49 percent of those surveyed wanted their lawmakers to vote against the next round of negotiations, while 46 percent urged Parliament to support it. The poll of 1,029 people was conducted by Infratest dimap from Monday to Wednesday. |
| Germany has ruled out forgiving any of Greece’s debt, but it has left open the door to negotiations on an extension to the payment schedule or lower interest rates. The International Monetary Fund is insisting, though, that Germany and other European creditors agree to a much deeper debt reduction than they had so far considered. | Germany has ruled out forgiving any of Greece’s debt, but it has left open the door to negotiations on an extension to the payment schedule or lower interest rates. The International Monetary Fund is insisting, though, that Germany and other European creditors agree to a much deeper debt reduction than they had so far considered. |
| Christine Lagarde, managing director of the fund, said in an interview with Europe 1 radio on Friday that the Greek bailout plan was “categorically not” viable without debt relief. | Christine Lagarde, managing director of the fund, said in an interview with Europe 1 radio on Friday that the Greek bailout plan was “categorically not” viable without debt relief. |
| The creditors are in agreement on that principle, she said, but “not on the amount or the means” of easing the repayment burden. Ms. Lagarde excluded debt forgiveness — known in financial jargon as a haircut — but mentioned the possibility of “considerably extending” maturities and the grace period during which no repayment is required, and of reducing the interest rate. | The creditors are in agreement on that principle, she said, but “not on the amount or the means” of easing the repayment burden. Ms. Lagarde excluded debt forgiveness — known in financial jargon as a haircut — but mentioned the possibility of “considerably extending” maturities and the grace period during which no repayment is required, and of reducing the interest rate. |
| For the I.M.F. to participate in a third bailout plan, she said, “there has to be a complete program,” which means not only that Greece must put overhauls in place, but also that the creditors must restructure the debt. | For the I.M.F. to participate in a third bailout plan, she said, “there has to be a complete program,” which means not only that Greece must put overhauls in place, but also that the creditors must restructure the debt. |