ATHENS, Greece (AP) – Dissenters increased pressure on Greece’s grudgingly pro-reform governing coalition Thursday, hours before an important vote on measures demanded by bailout creditors.
A lawmaker in Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras’ junior coalition partner said he would vote against the proposed legislation which, among others, will substantially reduce struggling mortgage holders’ protection from foreclosures.
The lawmaker, Nikos Nikolopoulos, refused to resign his seat and is expected to be expelled from the right-wing populist Independent Greeks party. That would cut Tsipras’ slender majority to four seats in the 300-strong parliament.
Earlier, a prominent lawmaker in Tsipras’ left-wing Syriza party resigned his seat, saying he can no longer back government policies. Gabriel Sakellaridis, a former government spokesman, will be replaced by another member of the Syriza party.
Both moves point to increasing unrest in the governing coalition over unpopular reforms Tsipras has been forced to pass to secure the country’s third bailout deal.