Merkel confident of German backing for Spanish bank aid
CHANCELLOR Angela Merkel last night announced she was confident that a majority of German lawmakers would back aid for Spain’s ailing banking sector in a Bundestag vote this Thursday.
Eurozone finance ministers agreed last Monday on a rescue package of up to €100bn (£78.8bn) for Spanish banks, which have been crippled by a burst housing bubble.
But Merkel’s government needs a green light from the parliament before finance minister Wolfgang Schaeuble can commit to paying out Germany’s share of the bailout at a meeting of Eurozone finance ministers on Friday.
Although some coalition lawmakers voted against the bailout fund and EU budget rules, Merkel insisted in a television interview that “we always get the majority we need.”
Michael Grosse-Boehmer, chief whip of Merkel’s conservatives and Volker Kauder, the conservatives’ parliamentary leader, both said they were confident Merkel would get a majority, even if it was not absolute.