Government narrowly wins privatization vote

Greek Parliament (Photo credit: duerrfk)

Greece΄s government scraped through a parliamentary vote on a contentious article in a privatization law demanded by lenders on Wednesday, highlighting the fragility of the ruling coalition. The article, which intends to scrap the government΄s obligation to own a minimum stake in a string of former state companies, passed with 148 deputies backing it and 139 deputies against the measure, Reuters reported. Support for the measure fell far short of the 176-seat majority Prime Minister Antonis Samaras΄s three-party coalition enjoys in parliament. A junior partner in the coalition did not back the measure, while several lawmakers from another coalition partner also failed to support the article. (Capital)