Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has pushed further the bills on farmers taxation and pension legislation in order to avoid more friction with dissidents within his party.
The two bills that would go for vote in Wednesday’s plenary have been pushed further, replaced by the more “acceptable” bills on tackling corruption and new legislation on television stations’ licensing and operations. The controversial bills, that are required by creditors in order to approve the third bailout package, will probably go on vote on August 5.
The replacement of the bills will give Tsipras breathing room and time to sort out the conflicts within his party, analysts say. The prime minister has stated that the limit he has set for “yes” votes from SYRIZA is 120. Anything below that number would force the prime minister to resign, as he has implied.
In the last vote, 123 coalition lawmakers voted for the omnibus bill, with 39 voting against. Sources from Maximos mansion say that the prime minister was afraid he might lose more MPs in the second, more critical vote. He could also lose votes from the opposition, as some New Democracy and PASOK lawmakers have stated that they might vote against.
By postponing the vote on the two bills, Tsipras has ample time to negotiate with the left platform within his party and ask for their support. He will try to convince them that party unity is important for the first leftist government in Greece. Despite the fact that party extremists still insist that the prime minister takes back the initial agreement on Greece’s third bailout and exit the Eurozone.
Also, by introducing the bills on corruption and legislation on television station operation, it is almost certain that he will get back several of his MPs who voted against in the previous ballot. This will give the picture of a more united party.
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