Germany to vote on Greek bailout in crucial test for deal

Chancellor Angela Merkel was to rally German lawmakers on July 17 to back talks for a new Greece bailout deal, a day after the parliament in Athens grudgingly agreed to harsh reforms.

Merkel, like Greece's hard-left Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, faces rebels in her own party ranks, but was ultimately expected to get approval from the chamber where her "grand coalition" commands an overwhelming majority.
 
On the eve of the Bundestag session starting at 0800 GMT, Merkel told conservative lawmakers she was "absolutely convinced" the new 86 billion euro ($94 billion) rescue package was the way forward.
 
The vote comes a day after European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi boosted a vital cash lifeline to Greece's struggling banks that will allow them to open their doors for the first time in almost three weeks on July 20.
 
It was Merkel -- leader of the EU's biggest economy and effective bailout paymaster -- who spearheaded the marathon Brussels talks last weekend that brought Greece back from the brink of crashing out of the eurozone, but at a high price.
 
To prevent a catastrophic "Grexit", Tsipras agreed to sweeping reforms on pensions, taxes and labour laws that were harsher than those he had urged people to reject in a July 5 referendum.
 
The about-face sparked violent street protest and speculation of early elections. Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos said his vote consenting to the lenders' terms "will burden me my whole life."  

Eurozone ministers rewarded Greece on July 16 by approving a vital  seven billion euro bridging loan and backing resumed negotiations for the third bailout package.
 
Merkel and her hardline Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble have been harshly criticised...