PM wins confidence vote - The Best from Greece

Prime Minister Lucas Papademos comfortably won a vote of confidence for his interim government on Wednesday though the refusal of the leaders of the two smaller parties in the coalition to provide guarantees sought by Greece’s foreign creditors overshadowed the victory.

Of the 300 MPs in Parliament, 255 voted in favor of the short-term administration and 38 voted against, following three days of often heated debate. Seven deputies were absent.

Speaking ahead of the vote, Papademos told Parliament that the support of every MP was crucial. “Each vote corresponds to a vote of responsibility to ensure that the effort to rescue the economy continues,” he said.

Three MPs from the three-party coalition -- which consists of center-left PASOK, conservative New Democracy and nationalist Popular Orthodox Rally (LAOS) -- voted against the new administration.

They were New Democracy’s Panos Kammenos as well as Christos Katsouras and Cetin Mandaci from PASOK. Katsouras expressed concerns about the political mix in the new government, referring to a “strange coalition.” Mandaci said he opposed the involvement of LAOS while the conservative dissident, Kammenos, objected to the premiership of Papademos, describing him as “a man of the troika,” a reference to Greece’s three international creditors -- the European Commission, European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund.

In his speech before the vote, Papademos said that to secure rescue funding for Greece, the leaders of the parties in the coalition would have to offer guarantees that they will meet the terms of an agreement between Greece and the troika. “This commitment is being asked of Greece by our foreign partners, who are committing to many years of financial support to Greece,” the premier said.

Earlier on Wednesday, Eurogroup chief Jean-Claude Juncker said he expected a sixth tranche of funding for Greece -- a sum of 8 billion euro -- to be released by the end of November. He added that EU officials required a “letter from Papademos.” He did not mention the party leaders but, shortly before the vote in Athens, NET state television quoted Juncker’s spokesman as saying that the premier’s letter would need to bear the signatures of the leaders of the two main parties in the coalition government -- Samaras and former Prime Minister George Papandreou of socialist PASOK.