The German Bundestag will start debating the expanded EFSF at around 9am central European time and the vote is expected within 3 hours. Even as the vote is taking place, the exact nature of the EFSF is changing and the final amounts will only be determined after the Troika has finished it’s processes. This Bundestag vote took on more importance earlier this month, when the constitutional court in Karlsruhe said that any decisions relating to bail-outs must be fully signed off by the German parliament.
With almost 70% of the German population opposing the bail-out, it’s surprising that the politicians are so willing to pass the bill. There is almost 100% certainty that it will pass, as the opposition SPD and the Greens are said to be supporting it, but the big danger is that Angela Merkel’s coalition government of CDU/CSU and FDP will collapse if coalition members oppose the measures.
