–Story originally transmitted on Sunday at 1753 ET
BERLIN (MNI) – The German government will win a large majority in
parliament on September 29 for its bill on the reform of the European
Financial Stability Facility (EFSF), German Finance Minister Wolfgang
Schaeuble said in an interview published Sunday.
“The majority in the Bundestag [the lower house of parliament] for
the rescue fund is so clear that the vote on it will be completely
without suspense,” Schaeuble told German weekly Bild am Sonntag (BamS).
Except for the post-communist Left party, all opposition parties
have already announced that they will vote with the government camp for
the EFSF bill.
And despite some unrest in the government coalition fractions about
the EFSF bill, the coalition will also have a majority on its own in
parliament, Schaeuble predicted in the BamS interview. But even if this
were not the case, it would not be a big deal, the minister argued,
pointing to the large opposition support for the bill.
Schaeuble again lashed out at Economics Minister Philipp Roesler,
who heads the junior coalition partner FDP, for publicly speculating
about an orderly default of Greece. “In the government, the finance
minister is responsible for fiscal policy,” he stressed.
Roesler’s FDP on Sunday again suffered another marked blow in a
regional state election. His party fell to 2% in elections in the
city-state of Berlin, well below the 5% threshold necessary to be
represented in parliament.
In the BamS interview, Schaeuble once again stressed that Greece
will get the next tranche of EU and IMF aid only if it meets its
consolidation and reform targets. The minister has stressed this point
on many occasions over recent weeks.
–Berlin bureau: +49-30-22 62 05 80; email: twidder@marketnews.com
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