Greek prime minister Alexis Tsipras returned to Athens yesterday facing a rebellion within his own government after he accepted the most intrusive programme ever mounted by the EU as the price for a new €86bn bailout to keep Greece in the eurozone.
Mr Tsipras was set to rely on opposition support to pass a swath of economic reform measures by tomorrow’s EU-imposed deadline or face bankruptcy, as a growing number of far-left MPs voiced opposition to the deal, Greece’s third bailout in five years. The ruling Syriza party’s extremist Left Platform called it a “humiliation of Greece”.
The leader of the Independent Greeks, the rightwing coalition partner, also said that his party could not agree to the accord, calling it a “coup by Germany” and its hardline eurozone allies.