There was a sizeable rebellion in Chancellor Angela Merkel's own
party ranks, however, suggesting she cannot return to parliament to
seek aid for Athens again.
The Bundestag lower house of parliament, whose backing is essential
for the release of bailout funds, approved the plan by 454 votes to
113, with 18 abstentions.
A breakdown of which lawmakers voted 'no' was not immediately
available.
Popular misgivings about sending more aid to Athens run deep in
Germany, the euro zone country which has already contributed most to
Greece's two previous bailouts since 2010. The new package is worth
86 billion euros ($94.94 billion).
Schaeuble, Germany's toughest negotiator on the Greek bailout, led
calls for a 'yes' vote in the parliamentary debate.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2015/Aug/19/images/ads/current/Lincoln-Heating-sda-fair-2015.png) "Of course, after the experience of the last years and months there
is no guarantee that everything will work and it is permissible to
have doubts," said Schaeuble.
"But in view of the fact that the Greek parliament has already
passed a large part of the measures it would be irresponsible to not
use the opportunity for a new start in Greece," he said, making the
case for the government.
Schaeuble had taken a tougher line than Merkel in bailout talks.
Last month, he tabled the option of a 'timeout' from the euro zone
for Greece, before then throwing his weight behind the
new bailout plan.
Support from parties including the Social Democrats (SPD), Merkel's
junior coalition partner, and the opposition Greens ensured German
approval of the bailout.
But in a blow to Merkel's authority, dozens of conservatives vowed
to oppose the bailout before the vote.
"The problem isn't a lack of European solidarity but a lack of Greek
efficiency," said Wolfgang Bosbach, a member of Merkel's
conservative Christian Democrats (CDU).
MERKEL STAYS MUM
Merkel sat impassively during the debate on the bailout, as Greens
co-leader Anton Hofreiter criticized her government for taking a
hard line during talks leading up to the accord on the new bailout.
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![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2015/Aug/19/images/ads/current/cia_1_lda_031115.png)
"A German government leadership that acts like that damages the
cohesion in Europe and thereby damages Germany by damaging our
standing in Europe," Hofreiter said to applause.
In the Netherlands, Prime Minister Mark Rutte will face a no
confidence motion on Wednesday, brought by his chief opposition
rival over a broken campaign pledge not to provide additional
emergency funding to Greece.
On Tuesday, the parliaments of Austria, Estonia and Spain voted to
approve the bailout.
In Berlin, Schaeuble said Athens had clearly shifted ground in the
last few weeks and was ready to reform.
He also reiterated the German view that it is imperative for the
International Monetary Fund to stay on board. The IMF, however, says
it won't unless Greece gets debt relief, while Germany is against
cutting Greek debt.
"I am fairly confident that we (international creditors including
the IMF) will reach a joint assessment of (Greece's) debt
sustainability in October," said Schaeuble, reiterating that a debt
haircut is not possible.
Last month, a record 65 lawmakers from the conservative camp broke
ranks and refused to back the start of bailout talks.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2015/Aug/19/images/ads/current/humphrey_daily_quarter_030314.png)
(Writing by Paul Carrel and Madeline Chambers; Additional reporting
by Caroline Copley; Editing by Jeremy Gaunt)
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