Athens : Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras on Sunday said he would call a confidence vote in his government after his coalition ally quit, leaving him bereft of a parliamentary majority and raising the possibility of snap elections.
Earlier, Greece’s right-wing defence minister resigned in protest at a deal ending a long running dispute with Macedonia over its name, saying he was taking his other six ministers in cabinet with him.
The crisis left the fate of a 2018 deal changing the name of Macedonia to North Macedonia in limbo. Greek parliamentary endorsement of the name is required for the tiny Balkan nation to join the European Union and NATO. Macedonia’s parliament has already ratified the accord with a constitutional amendment.
Outgoing Defence Minister Panos Kammenos’s Independent Greeks party had seven MPs, enough to get Tsipras’s administration past the threshold of 150 deputies in the 300-member parliament. Tsipras’s Syriza party has 145 seats and also the support of one independent lawmaker.
