File Photo of German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
Berlin:
German Chancellor Angela Merkel will call on the country's parliament to approve a third bailout for debt-mired Greece on Wednesday, but could face a rebellion from lawmakers within her own conservative ranks.
Approval of the latest 86 billion euro ($95 billion) emergency rescue plan for Athens is seen as assured given the 504 seats Merkel's left-right "grand coalition" holds in the 631-seat Bundestag lower house.
But grumbling has grown ever louder within her Christian Union bloc over lifelines thrown to the Greek government of leftist Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, an outspoken critic of the eurozone's de facto paymaster Germany.
Sixty of the 311 members in Merkel's parliamentary group voted last month against authorising the start of negotiations with Greece on a new rescue package -- defiance that was considered a blow to the chancellor.
Sources in Berlin say the number of those defectors could rise this time when MPs are called back from holidays to cast their ballots.
"If we're honest, this is a hidden debt haircut (writedown) at the expense of our children and grandchildren," conservative lawmaker Dagmar Woehrl told Tuesday's Rheinische Post newspaper, signalling her decision to vote 'no'.
However, the Christian Democrats' general secretary, Peter Tauber, warned that a vote against the bailout was "tantamount to stabbing the Chancellor in the back" two years before the party fervently hopes to see her stand for a fourth term.
Underlining the stakes involved, the party's chief whip Volker Kauder this month vowed to impose sanctions on any dissidents in his ranks -- a threat that may have backfired by antagonising backbenchers.
Clear conscience
Merkel will address the chamber and has dispatched trusted allies, including her powerful hardline Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble, to talk conservative MPs out of allowing their misgivings to get the upper hand.
Schaeuble threw his weight behind the plan approved by eurozone finance ministers Friday in an interview with public broadcaster ZDF, calling support for it "the right decision with everything taken into account".
Addressing nagging doubts about the International Monetary Fund's involvement in the bailout, a sacred cow to most conservatives, Schaeuble asked them to trust the IMF would agree by October to participate in the bailout.
"I am quite certain that we will come to a common assessment of the situation and I am also quite certain that the IMF will take part in this programme," he said.
A Commerzbank research note outlined the reasons for the German attachment to IMF involvement in the bailout, seeing it as a guarantor of stability and rigour.
"The IMF is the only organisation which has decades of experience with helping failing countries," it said.
"And it can only use this expertise if it has the opportunity to exercise pressure" by helping to foot the bill.
Schaeuble last month floated the prospect of Greece taking a "timeout" from the euro as an alternative to a fresh bailout, horrifying some eurozone partners but convincing voters at home of his vigilance on conditions of aid to Athens.
Now, he has said repeatedly in interviews over the last week that he can ask German lawmakers to approve the rescue deal with a clear conscience.
Merkel on Sunday credited the "tough stance" by Berlin and Schaeuble in particular with convincing Greece to swallow bitter pills she says are required to "get it back on its feet", including deep-cutting economic reforms.
In recent days Berlin has hailed a dramatic change in tone from Athens, particularly since the departure last month of flamboyant ex-finance minister Yanis Varoufakis, a virulent critic of Berlin's austerity demands.
But while the IMF has insisted on significant debt relief for Greece, Germany has ruled out a writedown and argued instead for longer maturities or lower interest rates on the principle.
The Bundestag debate is to begin at 0700 GMT with a vote expected at around 1000 GMT.
Approval of the latest 86 billion euro ($95 billion) emergency rescue plan for Athens is seen as assured given the 504 seats Merkel's left-right "grand coalition" holds in the 631-seat Bundestag lower house.
But grumbling has grown ever louder within her Christian Union bloc over lifelines thrown to the Greek government of leftist Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, an outspoken critic of the eurozone's de facto paymaster Germany.
Sixty of the 311 members in Merkel's parliamentary group voted last month against authorising the start of negotiations with Greece on a new rescue package -- defiance that was considered a blow to the chancellor.
Sources in Berlin say the number of those defectors could rise this time when MPs are called back from holidays to cast their ballots.
"If we're honest, this is a hidden debt haircut (writedown) at the expense of our children and grandchildren," conservative lawmaker Dagmar Woehrl told Tuesday's Rheinische Post newspaper, signalling her decision to vote 'no'.
However, the Christian Democrats' general secretary, Peter Tauber, warned that a vote against the bailout was "tantamount to stabbing the Chancellor in the back" two years before the party fervently hopes to see her stand for a fourth term.
Underlining the stakes involved, the party's chief whip Volker Kauder this month vowed to impose sanctions on any dissidents in his ranks -- a threat that may have backfired by antagonising backbenchers.
Clear conscience
Merkel will address the chamber and has dispatched trusted allies, including her powerful hardline Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble, to talk conservative MPs out of allowing their misgivings to get the upper hand.
Schaeuble threw his weight behind the plan approved by eurozone finance ministers Friday in an interview with public broadcaster ZDF, calling support for it "the right decision with everything taken into account".
Addressing nagging doubts about the International Monetary Fund's involvement in the bailout, a sacred cow to most conservatives, Schaeuble asked them to trust the IMF would agree by October to participate in the bailout.
"I am quite certain that we will come to a common assessment of the situation and I am also quite certain that the IMF will take part in this programme," he said.
A Commerzbank research note outlined the reasons for the German attachment to IMF involvement in the bailout, seeing it as a guarantor of stability and rigour.
"The IMF is the only organisation which has decades of experience with helping failing countries," it said.
"And it can only use this expertise if it has the opportunity to exercise pressure" by helping to foot the bill.
Schaeuble last month floated the prospect of Greece taking a "timeout" from the euro as an alternative to a fresh bailout, horrifying some eurozone partners but convincing voters at home of his vigilance on conditions of aid to Athens.
Now, he has said repeatedly in interviews over the last week that he can ask German lawmakers to approve the rescue deal with a clear conscience.
Merkel on Sunday credited the "tough stance" by Berlin and Schaeuble in particular with convincing Greece to swallow bitter pills she says are required to "get it back on its feet", including deep-cutting economic reforms.
In recent days Berlin has hailed a dramatic change in tone from Athens, particularly since the departure last month of flamboyant ex-finance minister Yanis Varoufakis, a virulent critic of Berlin's austerity demands.
But while the IMF has insisted on significant debt relief for Greece, Germany has ruled out a writedown and argued instead for longer maturities or lower interest rates on the principle.
The Bundestag debate is to begin at 0700 GMT with a vote expected at around 1000 GMT.
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