Government dodges Siemens vote
A bill to rubber-stamp an out-of-court settlement between the
government and the Greek branch of Siemens, which has been accused of
paying bribes to secure public contracts in the past, was withdrawn from
Parliament Thursday amid concern that the coalition would suffer a
significant amount of defections.
Alternate Finance Minister
Christos Staikouras announced that he was withdrawing the legislation
and argued that it was not needed anymore since the electronics giant
had officially accepted the terms of the deal. He also accused opponents
of the settlement of “demagoguery.” SYRIZA had used parliamentary rules
to ensure that the vote on the bill would not be a secret ballot,
prompting fears that the coalition would be put under strain due to
visible defections.
The 330-million-euro deal between Greece and
Siemens will see the firm invest 100 million euros in its Greek branch
and construct a new factory employing 700 people. | 
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