Roundup: Greece's leftist-led coalition gov't wins confidence vote

Greece's leftist-led coalition government easily won a confidence vote in parliament early Wednesday, two weeks after it was elected to power.

The coalition faced no trouble in the confidence vote as expected, since the leftist ruling party SYRIZA and its junior partner the right-wing Independent Greeks jointly have a 162-seat majority in the 300-member parliament after the Jan. 25 general elections.

A total of 162 deputies voted in favor of the new government in the roll call vote and 137 against with one MP absent, Speaker of Parliament Zoi Konstantopoulou announced at the end of a three-day debate on the coalition's policy statements.

The vote came ahead of an emergency eurozone meeting on Wednesday on the Greek debt crisis and an EU summit on Thursday.

The new Greek government, which has pledged an immediate overturn of harsh austerity measures introduced since 2010 to avert default and restore growth, said it would seek to rewrite the terms of the Greek bailout program.

Athens requests a bridging agreement to cover the country's funding needs until autumn while the government is negotiating a final agreement with creditors on further debt relief. Lenders on the other hand still seem adamant that Greece should stick to the current reform drive and not risk improving fiscal conditions in order to secure further support.

Fears of a possible rift between the two sides have revived the possibility of a Greek exit from the eurozone in recent weeks, although Greek officials appeared optimistic that they would have a positive outcome in the following days.

"I am certain our European partners will respond to our proposals and we will achieve a mutually beneficial agreement," Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said when addressing the parliament shortly before the vote.

Noting that Greece "cannot return to the era of the bailout agreements and submission," he said the government will have a dialogue with EU partners on the basis of equality.

"I would like to assure you there is no turning back... We have Greek people by our side. We cannot be blackmailed," the leftist leader said.

While the ruling coalition is resolute to "defend the dignity" of the Greek people in talks with EU partners, the opposition has repeatedly warned of the risks in taking an aggressive stance while dealing with creditors.

Antonis Samarasmain, leader of the main opposition conservative New Democracy Party, urged the government to refrain from a confrontation with EU partners as it could have "enormous repercussions" for the country.

"Whoever loves his country wants the new government to succeed. But we won't allow you to jeopardize the country's future and its European course," Samaras said, adding that his party will back every move by the government as long as it is in the right direction. Endi