Greek parliament passes second crucial bailout bill

The Greek parliament on early Thursday passed a bill on a second batch of reforms in line with an international bailout for Greece's sluggish economy. The bill includes civil justice reforms, a bank deposit protection scheme and measures to boost the liquidity of banks, was favored by a clear majority, with 230 votes in favor out of 298 deputies taking part in the roll call vote. On the other part, 63 parliamentarians in the 300-member strong assembly voted against the bill and five others abstained. The legislation was requested by international lenders in order to finalize the third bailout and avert default and Grexit or a Greek exit from the eurozone. The plenary approved the bill that ratifies an European Union directive to guarantee bank deposits of up to 100,000 euros (around 110,000 US dollars) in cases of failed banks as well as a civil justice reform designed to reduce time and costs in legal proceedings. The bill was backed once again by the three main pro-euro opposition parties, but in the new crucial vote for the government, it suffered once again losses from 36 "rebels" within Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras' left-wing SYRIZA party, who voted against the bill or abstained. A total of 39 SYRIZA deputies out of all 149 seats the party holds in the parliament had participated in the first "mutiny" last week. Among legislators who voted against the bill for a second time in a week were Parliament Speaker Zoe Konstantopoulou and former ministers who were replaced in a cabinet reshuffle on Friday after voting a day earlier against the debt deal clinched with lenders ten days ago. Tsipras' coalition partner, the right-wing Independent Greeks (ANEL) party which holds 13 seats in the chamber, voted Yes again for the second package of measures and helped the two-party coalition government retain the parliamentary majority in the new critical test. "We reached a difficult compromise, having exhausted every negotiating option, we reached the limits of the Greek economy and of the banking system," Tsipras said, addressing the parliament shortly before the voting. About the scenarios that the government will collapse in coming weeks, Tsipras will resign and early general elections will be called unless a new national unity government from the current assembly will be formed, the Greek leader stressed that he did not intend to leave the "battlefield" voluntarily. The left-wing power is a fortress in the struggle to protect the Greek peoples's interests and restore social justice, he underlined, reassuring that the civil justice reform, for example, will not jeopardize the protection of families' main homes, as critics of the bill have claimed. ANEL leader and Defense Minister Panos Kammenos took a step further and called on the main opposition -- the conservative New Democracy party and the socialists of PASOK who supported the bill again on Thursday -- to join the government for "changing the country together." The government appears determined to finalize the third bailout deal on time so that Greece can meet with no delay a bond repayment to the European Central Bank on Aug. 20, despite strong reactions, arguing that the tough agreement was the only credible way to avert a financial meltdown and Grexit. Trade unions and some opposition parties still object to the harsh conditions and vow to continue anti-austerity mobilization. On Wednesday night thousands of protesters joined rallies staged in front of the parliament by the labor union ADEDY and the trade union PAME. "Greece, I love you. I will not allow your sell-off," read banners waved by demonstrators. The protest was briefly disrupted by minor scuffles between a group of about 200 anarchists and police. The hooded anarchists infiltrated the protestors' march and started pelting petrol bombs at police forces which replied by firing tear gas grenades. No injuries or major damages have been reported.