Greece’s parliament has narrowly approved the 2016 budget that includes sharp spending cuts and some tax increases amid economic recession.
The budget was passed with a majority of only eight votes – 153 to 145.
“This budget is a difficult task for a government that wants to leave its mark with social justice,” Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras told lawmakers.
He agreed to a batch of economic reforms in August to secure a euro zone bailout of up to €86bn
His government has been under pressure to deliver tangible benefits to its poorest citizens since the agreement.
The budget makes €5.7bn in public spending cuts including €1.8bn from pensions and €500m from defence. It also includes tax increases of just over €2bn.
Despite the cuts, the budget will still have a greater deficit than the 2015 budget.
The 2016 budget aims to generate at least 0.5 percent of GDP primary surplus by 2017 via tax hikes and spending cuts totaling 6 billion euros.
In the latest critical vote for the leftist-led government, which essentially turned into a vote of confidence, the budget was passed with 153 yes votes in the 300-member legislature.
All MPs of the SYRIZA party and the junior coalition partners, the Right-wing Independent Greeks, voted in favor of the budget.
In a previous vote in the assembly on Nov. 19 on a set of prior actions required by international lenders to release further bailout loans to Athens, the government’s majority shrank by two legislators who voted against party line.
As more crucial votes are due in coming weeks and months, tension between the government and opposition parties is on the rise. Officials such as Central Bank Governor Yannis Stournaras and analysts have called for consensus so as to step out of the prolonged debt crisis.
The heated debate inside the parliament shortly before the roll call vote on Sunday was not very encouraging, media commentators noted.
During the session Tsipras accused the opposition of undermining efforts to overcome the crisis, while opposition parties criticized the government of promoting extremely harsh policies that will fuel recession, unemployment and the suffering of a large part of the Greek society.
The alternative remains disorderly bankruptcy and Grexit, cabinet ministers responded, voicing determination to push through more controversial policies, such as the pension system reform
