Wednesday’s parliament vote on the second omnibus bill of reforms required for Greece’s third bailout will be critical for the SYRIZA government.
Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has sent an indirect message to his party that if the bill gets less than 120 votes from coalition MPs, the government may fall.
The second omnibus bill is a more difficult one since it includes foreclosures and tax hikes for farmers. Several lawmakers who were elected in rural areas oppose new taxation to farmers because they worry that their constituents will turn against them.
People close to the government headquarters say that Tsipras may form a special purpose government to complete the bailout agreement if he does not get the votes he needs from his party. There is also the scenario that the Prime Minister may resign and will not be on the helm of an all-party government.
SYRIZA’s Left Platform continues to call on Tsipras to cancel the bailout deal. The group’s MPs claim that they will vote against the bill on Wednesday. Former Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis stated that he will vote against it, and so did Parliament President Zoe Konstantopoulou, adding more fuel to speculation that SYRIZA may split in two after Wednesday.
Efforts are made to reach an agreement between the two SYRIZA camps and maintain party discipline. One proposal is have the Left Platform publicly state that they disagree with the bailout deal but vote for the omnibus bill in parliament. Analysts say that Tsipras does not want to go in a head-on collision with the Left Platform.
There is also the faction of the “53.” The 53 lawmakers who disagree with the bailout terms but believe that the agreement must be signed in order to avoid bankruptcy, although SYRIZA should not be the party to implement the reforms.
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