Angela Merkel is set to face a fresh revolt from the ranks of her own centre-right supporters when the German parliament is recalled for a special vote on the provision of up to €100 billion in aid for the Spanish banking industry.
The Bundestag is expected to vote in favour of the bailout with a clear majority, thanks to the support of the opposition Social Democratic and Green parties, but Volker Kauder, parliamentary leader of the Christian Democrat group, forecast at the weekend that Ms Merkel would not gain an outright “chancellor’s majority” for the deal. That would require 311 votes in favour in the 620-strong assembly.
Merkel said she was confident she would get a simple majority for the Spanish aid. “We always get the majority we need”, she said on ZDF public television. She was adamant that financial aid to debt-strapped eurozone states would always be subject to strict conditions and supervision.
Jens Weidmann, president of the powerful German Bundesbank, said that the European aid plan would be more effective if conditions were applied across the Spanish economy.
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