AlHijjah 24, 1436, October 08, 2015, SPA -- Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras survived a confidence vote late Wednesday in parliament after a three-day debate on the new left-right government's programme, according to dpa. As he presented the government's policies and 2016 budget, Tsipras on Monday promised speedy implementation of reforms demanded by Greece's international creditors. There was little doubt of the outcome in the 300-seat parliament. The confidence vote won the support of all 155 members of Tsipras' own left-wing SYRIZA party and junior coalition partner Independent Greeks (ANEL), while 144 opposition lawmakers voted no. "We have to bite the bullet," Tsipras said Monday, acknowledging that Greeks were facing continued hard times. After fulfilling the lenders' demands, Tsipras said he hoped to discuss a restructuring of Greece's debts to recapitalize ailing banks and attract foreign investment. Athens borrowed another 1.1 billion euros (1.2 billion dollars) on Wednesday to pay off government bonds worth 1.4 billion euros by Friday, the country's debt agency PDMA said. Evangelos Meimarakis, leader of the conservative New Democracy, the largest opposition party, said he would support the government's planned privatizations and economic reforms, but not 6.4 billion euros in planned tax increases, which he said would hurt pensioners and workers. "Is that your left-wing policy?" he asked, citing the tax issue for New Democracy's opposition to the confidence vote. SYRIZA was re-elected last month in snap elections, called by Tsipras to renew his mandate after signing an 86-billion-euro (97-billion-dollar) bailout deal that included cost-cutting measures he had previously promised to roll back. The election saw Greece's lowest voter turnout in more than 50 years.
