Greece parliament to hold confidence vote

Nov 16, 2011, 8:05 GMT

Athens - Greece's parliament was to hold a confidence vote Wednesday in the new coalition government as the finance minister urged lawmakers to ratify a debt deal as soon as possible to avoid default.

Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos said talks were underway to secure cross-party backing for a 130-billion-euro (175.6-billion-dollar) bailout package from the European Union, International Monetary Fund and European Central Bank.

The debt deal includes provisions for private bondholders to take a 50-per-cent cut in their Greek debt holdings.

The government is widely expected to win the confidence vote since it has the support of the two largest parties, and some members of the smaller right-wing LAOS party.

The vote comes ahead a march marking the anniversary of an anti-dictatorship uprising in 1973. More than 7,000 police officers have been deployed in Athens, as the authorities fear the march could turn violent in response to months of austerity measures.

Greece received an initial 110-billion-euro bailout in May 2010 in exchange for spending cuts to salaries and pensions, as well as tax hikes.

Without the next tranche of 8 billion euros in emergency funding, Athens will default by mid-December, experts say.

Newly appointed premier, Lucas Papademos, has told parliament that Greece has no choice but to remain in the eurozone.