The vote followed a stormy debate in which dozens of lawmakers on the left of the ruling Syriza party rebelled against Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and opposed the package, which passed with the support of opposition parties.
The package passed with 229 votes in favor in the 300-seat chamber but 38 SYRIZA lawmakers abstained or voted against the government, including former Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis, current Energy Minister Panagiotis Lafazanis, Deputy Labour Minister Dimitris Stratoulis and speaker of parliament Zoe Constantopoulou.
The result opens the way for talks on a third bailout to begin with European partners, but leaves the future of the leftist Tsipras government unclear following the split in his party ranks.
The split was substantial, with almost a third of the party's MPs voting against the PM's recommendation and plea. This means that without the apposition block, Tsipras will be unable to pass any further austerity bills through the House.
Which presents the PM, his government and the prerequisite bills still needed for the talks to continue, quite a conundrum. Tsipras remains the most viable politician for Greece at the moment, with a huge political capital in the public arena, but a bruised profile in his own party.
As long as the opposition parties continue to abstain from a non confidence vote in the House, he can keep going with a de facto minority government, but if he sticks to his position of not standing up to the "rebels" in his own party (he has repeatedly stated that throwing MPs out of his party is not in the left's culture), he will soon have to either resign and call early elections, or seek a wider majority through a new coalition government.
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