GREECE: Greek lawmakers and ministers explain how they voted in parliament on the controversial bailout agreement that evoked violent reactions in the streets of central Athens

Record ID: 327682

  • Title: GREECE: Greek lawmakers and ministers explain how they voted in parliament on the controversial bailout agreement that evoked violent reactions in the streets of central Athens
  • Date: 14th February 2012
  • Summary: ATHENS, GREECE (FEBRUARY 13 2012) (REUTERS) (NIGHTSHOTS) MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT AND MINISTERS LEAVING PARLIAMENT AFTER VOTE (SOUNDBITE) (Greek) COMMUNIST PARTY MEMBER, DIMITRIS PAPADIMOULIS, SAYING: "Tonight marks the beginning of the end of a wrong method of governance for decades that brought Greece to this mess. In the next elections the citizens will punish the New Democracy and the PASOK parties." LEADER OF THE LEFT WING SYRIZA PARTY ALEXIS TSIPRAS LEAVING PARLIAMENT AFTER VOTE (SOUNBITE) (English) NEW DEMOCRACY PARTY MINISTER, DIONISIA AVGERINOPOULOU, SAYING: "I voted yes to the new measures to the PSI agreement and to the loan agreement, just because I think that this is the right time to give a chance to Greece to go through all the difficulties that the global financial system has created to all the member states of the Eurozone and the rest of the countries. I just believe that right now the new generation of Greece needs a chance to support its future support its dreams." CARS OF LAWMAKERS LEAVING PARLIAMENT (SOUNDBITE) (English) MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT FOR THE NEW DEMOCRACY PARTY, OLGA KEFALOGIANNI, SAYING: "I voted yes because I believe in the European perspective of Greece. I believe that the only stability for Greece is for us to remain in the euro area, and of course this means we have to make a lot of sacrifices. The Greek people have already made a lot of sacrifices. These are necessary as well as reforms, structural reforms that have not been taken forward these past two years - as well as such as privatisation and a lot of other things that Greece has to do. As well as taking back a path to growth and not this recession that we have seen without an end." KEFALOGIANNI LEAVING (SOUNDBITE) (Greek) SOCIALIST MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT (PASOK PARTY), VASSO PAPANDREOU, SAYING: "After a long time, I voted with my conscience, and I feel happy with my conscience. I was expelled from PASOK but they cannot expel my opinions or my history." FINANCE MINISTER EVANGELOS VENIZELOS LEAVING PARLIAMENT (SOUNDBITE) (English) CULTURE MINISTER, PAVLOS GEROULANOS, SAYING: "Most of the people see the vote as the measures, and that is why they are reacting to it, and rightly so, but the reality is that it puts Greece on a completely new footing in order to develop its economy again that is what we should all be focussed on right now." GEROULANOS LEAVING
  • Embargoed: 29th February 2012 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Greece, Greece
  • Country: Greece
  • Topics: Economy,Domestic Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVABI0Q6VK7S1UYNQFPKEW7FIKT8
  • Story Text: Greece passed a controversial but crucial bailout agreement in parliament on Monday (February 13) by a wide majority despite resignations from lawmakers.
    In a midnight vote 199 deputies voted for the bailout, while 74 deputies voted against it. A total of 278 lawmakers in the 300 seat parliament cast their vote.
    Coming out of parliament in the early hours of Monday lawmakers and ministers expressed mixed reactions to the decision, highlighting the problems the government faces in implementing the cuts.
    "Tonight marks the beginning of the end of a wrong method of governance for decades that brought Greece to this mess. In the next elections the citizens will punish the New Democracy and the PASOK parties," predicted Dimitris Papadimoulis of the Communist Party.
    The Communist and the Left wing Syriza parties voted against the proposed austerity bill.
    Member of parliament Dionysia Avgerinopoulou of the New Democracy Party said her vote was influenced by considerations for the younger generation of Greeks and a need to support them in the future.
    "I voted yes to the new measures to the PSI agreement and to the loan agreement, just because I think that this is the right time to give a chance to Greece to go through all the difficulties that the global financial system has created to all the member states of the Eurozone and the rest of the countries. I just believe that right now the new generation of Greece needs a chance to support its future support its dreams," she said.
    Olga Kefalogianni also from the New Democracy Party echoed Avgerinopoulou's sentiment.
    "I believe in the European perspective of Greece. I believe that the only stability for Greece is for us to remain in the euro area, and of course this means we have to make a lot of sacrifices," she said.
    "The Greek people have already made a lot of sacrifices. These are necessary as well as reforms, structural reforms that have not been taken forward these past two years," she added.
    Forty-three deputies from the two parties in the government of Prime Minister Lucas Papademos, the socialist of the PASOK party and the conservatives of the New Democracy party, rebelled by voting against. They were immediately expelled by their parties.
    "After a long time, I voted with my conscience, and I feel happy with my conscience. I was expelled from PASOK but they cannot expel my opinions or my history," said PASOK party member Vasso Papandreou.
    Four ministers of the far right party LAOS, resigned from the coalition government on Saturday (February 12), after its leader said he would not support the bailout package. But Sunday two of those ex-ministers were expelled from the party because they voted for it.
    Scenes of violence spread across central Athens and other parts of Greece as rioters clashed with police and set businesses ablaze, angered by sharp cuts in the austerity package, which include a 22 percent reduction in the minimum wage.
    Papademos denounced the violence, saying it blackened democratic protests.
    Culture Minister Pavlos Geroulanos of the PASOK party said that while public anger was understandable the package was a necessary deal.
    "Most of the people see the vote as the measures, and that is why they are reacting to it, and rightly so, but the reality is that it puts Greece on a completely new footing in order to develop its economy again that is what we should all be focussed on right now," Geroulanos said.
    Greece needs the international funds before March 20 to meet debt repayments of 14.5 billion euros, or suffer a chaotic default which could shake the entire euro zone.
    The EU and IMF say they have had enough of broken promises and that the funds will be released only with the clear commitment of Greek political leaders that they will implement the reforms whoever wins an election potentially in April.
    The bill sets out 3.3 billion euros (4.35 billion U.S. dollars) of extra budget cuts for this year alone.
    It also provides for a bond swap to ease Greece's debt burden by cutting the real value of private-sector investors' bond holdings by some 70 percent. Greece would have missed a Feb. 17 deadline to offer a debt "haircut" to private bondholders if the vote had not been passed.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2012. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
Register