Greece debt crisis: Greek government official says Tsipras 'will not resign' after parliament votes on the bailout package

Four laws must be passed by the Greek government by Wednesday to secure a third bailout package for Greece

Hazel Sheffield,Doug Bolton
Wednesday 15 July 2015 09:58 BST
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Twitter was awash with rumours of mutiny among politicians in the Syriza party and Tsipras's government on Tuesday.
Twitter was awash with rumours of mutiny among politicians in the Syriza party and Tsipras's government on Tuesday.

A Greek government official has said that Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras will not resign after agreeing to a bailout package from EU leaders, despite speculation that he would after the parliamentary vote on the tough plan.

Speaking to Reuters, the government official said that Tsipras will not resign, but will probably reshuffle his cabinet after parliament votes on the baillout package on Wednesday evening.

There has been much speculation of mutiny among politicians in the Syriza party and Tsipras's government on Tuesday. Panos Kammenos, head of the Independent Greeks and Tsipras’s defence minister, said that he will only back the measures that were agreed before Tsipras went to Brussels rather than the far reaching reforms he has come back with.

Tasos Koronakis, a key member of the Syriza party, is said to be one of up to 30 Syriza party members that will oppose the agreement.

And yesterday, Nikos Hountis, Syriza's alternate foreign minister for European affairs, resigned from his position, becoming the first Syriza MP to do so since Greece reached its agreement with European leaders in the early hours of Monday morning.

Derek Halpenny, a European head at the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi, said there is "speculation" that Tsipras will resign after the vote, "given the scale of of failure in his strategy to get a better deal for Greece." However, Tsipras looks likely to hold on to power.

Four laws, including those governing VAT and pension reforms, must be passed by the Greek government by Wednesday to secure a third bailout package for Greece. Without the deal, Greece faces the prospect of financial collapse.

There is little doubt that Tsipras will push through the legislation needed. He can do so with the support of pro-Europe opposition parties. But intense opposition from his party and his allies has fuelled speculation over his future as prime minister.

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