Greek parliament approves $95 billion bailout deal

Tsipras gets his way.
(Image credit: The Associated Press)

Early Friday, after a contentious all-night session, Greece's parliament approved an €85 billion ($95 billion) bailout deal with the country's main creditors, the euro zone and and the International Monetary Fund. The final vote was 222 yes, 64 no, 11 abstentions, and 3 absent. During the debate, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras called the austerity-forcing deal a "necessary choice" that would hand Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos the tools he needed to get euro zone approval at Friday's meeting of European finance ministers.

Tsipras had to rely on opposition members to pass the deal, overcoming a rebellion in his own Syriza party— 32 of the no votes and all 11 abstentions were from Syriza members. Parliament Speaker Zoe Konstantopoulou, a Syriza hardliner, forced the all-night session by raising a long string of procedural hurdles.

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Peter Weber

Peter Weber is a senior editor at TheWeek.com, and has handled the editorial night shift since the website launched in 2008. A graduate of Northwestern University, Peter has worked at Facts on File and The New York Times Magazine. He speaks Spanish and Italian and plays bass and rhythm cello in an Austin rock band. Follow him on Twitter.