Berlin smiles as Athens passes more reforms

Peter Altmaier, one of the leading figures at Angela Merkel's chancellery, took to Twitter after hearing the news from Athens that the Hellenic parliament had passed a second set of reforms.

The next stop on that journey will be on Friday, when representatives of "the institutions" (formerly known as the troika - the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund) are set to arrive in Athens. The Reuters news agency quoted a Greek government official saying negotiations on the conditions for the next bailout were planned to begin on Friday.

While the German chancellery was busy praising the Greek vote, however, ECB Governing Council Member Ignazio Visco was quick to point out that Greece faced a mountain of debt perhaps only the God Hercules could climb. Visco wrote in Thursday's "Il Foglio" that it was "clear that Greece's problems can't be solved by simply extending the amount of time the country has to pay up."

Over three-quarters behind Tsipras

Following a whirlwind debate lasting into the early hours of Thursday, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras found himself with a comfortable majority to get the controversial measures passed. Reports said 230 lawmakers approved the legislation, with 63 voting against and five abstaining. Three MPs were unaccounted for.

Heading into the vote, Tsipras had lost substantial support within his own left-wing Syriza party. During a vote on bailout conditions last week, he needed the help of votes from the opposition to pass the first tranche of creditor-demanded reforms.

Many had expected this week's vote to expose anew internal rifts within Syriza. However, the Greek leader appeared to have mended at least some of those differences, with only 36 deputies from his own ranks voting against or abstaining from the bill (as opposed to 39 in last week's vote).

Even deposed Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis voted in favor, much to the surprise of observers in Athens.

Despite the success of Thursday's vote, however, the Greek press was harsh with its assessment of the leftist party leading Greece.

"Syriza is facing a schism," was the headline of the conservative daily "Kathimerini."

"The rupture [in Syriza] remains," wrote the left-leaning daily "I Efimerída ton Syntakton" atop its front page.

'State of emergency'

Once again, the stakes were high at Greece's parliament atop Syntagma Square.

Failure to achieve sufficient votes would have resulted in a derailing of the bailout, rekindling fears over the country's future in the eurozone.

In his address to parliament, Tsipras said the unpopular reforms were a necessary price to pay to keep Greece alive after stormy talks with its creditors had nearly collapsed earlier this month.

"We have chosen a compromise that forces us to implement a program in which we do not believe, and we will implement it because the alternatives are tough," he said.

"We are summoned today to legislate under a state of emergency," Tsipras implored.

'Swift progress'

The European Union's top economy official, Pierre Moscovici, said after months of deadlock, the parties were finally making "swift progress," adding that he hoped a final bailout deal could be signed by August 20.

"That is the general calendar but we will see how things go," Moscovici said, adding that the "main thing" was to conclude the official Memorandum of Understanding - the document that will bind Greece with its creditors.

The new bailout will be worth up to 86 billion euros ($93 billion) and was agreed - in principle - by the 19 leaders of the eurozone at a summit last week. Without this aid, Greece will be unable to pay off its debts.

glb/kms (Reuters, AFP, AP, dpa)