German Parliament expected to back Greece bailout

“If we don’t find a solution, we will have to do bridge financing”, he said, referring to a short-term loan so Greece can make its next debt payment on August 20.

The chairman of the euro currency group, Jeroen Dijsselbloem, warned that Greece has a long and hard road ahead. But it is not so much the money, sources said on Thursday, even though it would be welcome. “It’s not going to be easy”. Sixty of the 311 lawmakers have indicated they may vote against the package.

The number of conservative defectors – three more than the 60 who voted against taking up bailout negotiations in July – was also the highest level since the eurozone crisis began five years ago.

The German parliament voted by an overwhelming majority Wednesday to back a massive new bailout for Greece, with Chancellor Angela Merkel spared a major rebellion of deputies opposing the aid.

According to the agreement between Greece and its global creditors, the debt-ridden country would receive the fresh aid only if harsh austerity and reform measures including tax hikes, pensions cuts and privatization of state assets were undertaken. Germany is the largest single contributor to Greece’s economic bailout.

Support from parties including the Social Democrats (SPD), Merkel’s junior coalition partner, and the opposition Greens ensured German approval of the bailout.

Tsipras has been contemplating his options after a parliament vote to approve the bailout conditions led to dozens of his own party lawmakers voting against him.

On Tuesday, the parliaments of Austria, Estonia and Spain voted to approve the bailout. Lawmakers in the Netherlands were also expected to greenlight the bailout on Wednesday. Sven Giegold, a German member of the European Parliament, said the Greek public “hardly knows” what will be sold off.

Schaeuble laid out his hope that the bailout will help turn the Greek economy around.

Bild has sniped at Greece for years, including a 2011 headline saying “Take the euro away from the Greeks!”

“If Greece stands by its obligations and the program is completely and resolutely implemented, then the Greek economy can grow again“, Schaeuble said. “The opportunity is there”.

A further €10bn are to be set aside to deal with ailing Greek banks, while the remaining €3bn will be disbursed to Athens in return for reform progress over the coming months, the Eurogroup of eurozone finance ministers said on Friday.

The unexpectedly large contingent of dissenters, including former finance minister Yanis Varoufakis, heaped pressure on Tsipras to clear the rebels swiftly from his party and call early elections in the hope of locking in popular support.