Following Wednesday's Greek vote approving the draconian terms of the Third Greek bailout, the next biggest hurdle for the implementation of another round of Greek aid was Germany's parliamentary vote whether to endorse the terms cobbled together over last weekend. Moments ago it did just that in a vote which had been widely expected to pass without complications, when 439 members of the lower house of parliament voted in favor Berlin to starting negotiations on a third bailout program for Greece, 119 voted against and 40 abstained. A total of 598 votes were cast.
The passage was assured when Chancellor Angela Merkel essentially gave German MPs an ultimatum, and called on German lawmakers on Friday to back negotiations for a third Greek bailout or face chaos, saying suggestions Athens might temporarily leave the euro wouldn't work.
Schaeuble himself has suggested that Greece might be better off taking a "time-out" from the euro zone to sort out its daunting economic problems, although this morning he too said the vote must pass and Greece has a chance of success with the latest bailout package.
Nonetheless, the size of the 'No' vote was far larger than when German lawmakers voted on the extension of a second bailout package in February. On that occasion, 32 lawmakers voted 'No.'
This unlocks the process on finalizing what the Third Greek bailout will look like and grants passage of the €7 billion Greek bridge loan, the bulk of whose proceeds will be used to repay the ECB and the IMF.
