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Over 60 lawmakers from Germany’s The Left (Die Linke) party voted against the proposal for further austerity for Greece and accused the German government of “destroying Europe” by forcing Greece to accept hard-hitting austerity measures required by the eurozone for a third bailout deal.
Despite strong left opposition, the majority of the German Bundestag decided Friday to back Chancellor Angela Merkel's proposal to start negotiations on a further US$93.5 billion bailout deal for Greece.
The Left’s parliamentary group leader, Gregor Gysi, said the plan will continue the damage the previous austerity measures imposed on Greece: “you have to decrease wages, you have to decrease pensions ... this completely wrong programme has lead to the reduction of the economic output, to the reduction of tax revenue/income everywhere, and is now to be continued.”
Gysi also accused Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble of having blackmailed the Greek government.
The vote passed with a clear majority, by 439 to 119, and 40 abstentions in the 631-seat Bundestag. Before the vote, German leader Merkel warned not backing her plan will cause “predictable chaos.”
Lawmakers from the conservative Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU) and Christian Social Union in Bavaria (CSU), overwhelmingly supported Merkel's motion, although 50 conservative politicians voted against the measures on nationalist grounds.
The left support for Greece has grown in Germany this week with multiple protests across the country, which have see thousands taking to the streets to reject the government's aggressive treatment of the Greek crisis, in solidarity with their European neighbors.
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On Wednesday, the Greek Parliament accepted the set of reforms demanded by its creditors in order to access EU emergency funding. These measures were described as “irrational” by Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, as they will continue the deep political and economic crisis in the country.
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