By NICHOLAS KULISH
Published: September 29, 2011
BERLIN — The German Parliament easily approved the expansion of the bailout fund for heavily indebted European countries Thursday, the most important step in a tortuous process that has rattled markets and raised doubts about the ability of governments to react to the expanding debt crisis.
The tally also marked a narrow but significant political victory for Chancellor Angela Merkel, as fewer lawmakers from her own coalition broke away to join the no vote than had been expected.
Passage in Germany — Europe’s largest economy and the only country with the fiscal wherewithal to pull fellow countries in the euro currency zone out of trouble — moved the struggling rescue forward. But analysts said it was likely to offer only momentary relief rather than anything like a permanent solution.
And for Mrs. Merkel, the victory merely provided breathing room after a divisive debate within her own parliamentary bloc that has weakened her grip on power at a critical moment.
Opposition politicians had argued that the vocal opposition within her ranks meant that Mrs. Merkel had lost control of her coalition and needed to dissolve the government. But in the end, the measure passed without needing opposition support, giving her the so-called chancellor’s majority, which had been so called into question in recent weeks, up to the final moment.
With the future of Europe and the euro hanging in the balance, the vote was 523 to 85 in favor of the expanded bailout fund, with 3 legislators abstaining. Within her coalition, Mrs. Merkel received 315 votes, four more than needed for the chancellor's majority.
As a result, Germany agreed to an increase in its share of the guarantees to 211 billion euros, or $285 billion, from 123 billion euros.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/30/business/global/germany-parliament-votes-to-expand-euro-bailout-fund.html
