New Greek PM gets confidence vote
Athens, Greece (AHN) – On a 255-38 vote, new Greek Prime Minister Lucas Papademos was confirmed on Wednesday by the country’s Parliament. Now armed with a mandate, Papademos could proceed to finalize the 2012 budget and secure a bailout for Greece to avert a default and economic collapse.
However, the majority vote that MPs gave Papademos is not an indicator of the national pulse because most Greeks are against the austerity program which is a condition set by the European Union, International Monetary Fund and the European Central Bank for the release of the second tranche of the bailout.
Unions are set to hold another rally in the guise of observing the anniversary of the 1973 student uprising that brought down the military junta that ruled Greece, but would be used to protest the belt-tightening initiatives.
In anticipation of the chaos resulting from the protest movement, the government will deploy 7,000 police officers.
Athens traditionally observes the Nov. 17 anniversary of the student rally. The rite normally draws large number of participants yearly, which includes a march from the polytechnic to the U.S. embassy to protest the American support for the military regime then.
Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos will present the proposed 2012 budget to the new cabinet for approval. Once it is approved, the document will be submitted to parliament for discussion by legislators this week.
Papademos’s mandate is just for three months to put in place the budget measures and ensure the $176 billion (€130 billion) bailout is released.
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