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Greek Parliament approved last night the 2013 budget with 167 votes "for," 128 "against" and four abstained. This is the most restrictive budget ever approved in Greece, which will save costs of approximately 11 billion euro. All members of SYRIZA, Independent Greeks, Golden Dawn and the Communist Party of Greece voted against it. PASOK’s deputies Markos Bolaris, Angela Gerekou and Ioannis Koutsoukos, who have been disaffiliated with the party, abstained as well as Mimis Androulakis, who has left the socialist ranks of his own accord.
     The deputies from the Democratic Left, Paris Moutsinas and Odysseas Voudouris, separated themselves from the party line to support the budget and voted against all the articles except for the spending of the presidency. The deputy Yiannis Panousis from the same party was absent from the voting. Moutsinas and Voudouris had not complied with the party line on Wednesday either, during the vote on the third fiscal adjustment package. Then, the Democratic Left had decided to abstain, whereas the two deputies had voted "against".
    New Democracy deputy Theodoros Soldatos voted "against" the texts relating to the costs of the ministries of development and employment, and George Kasapidis, who is an already disaffiliated former "blue" and now independent deputy, voted "against" the article defining the costs of the finance ministry. By a decision of the Prime Minister Antonis Samaras, Theodoros Soldatos has been removed from the parliamentary group of New Democracy.
    "From now on, only economic boom and growth," was the comment of the Prime Minister, who was apparently content with the vote. The adoption of the budget is always a kind of a confidence vote in the government, which received the support of another 14 deputies this time. The fiscal consolidation measures that were adopted on Wednesday had been approved by only 153 deputies.
    The worst card in the Greek budget for next year is the reduction of pensions, which will save 5.4 billion euro. Reducing the salaries of public workers will also save 1.7 billion euro. Health care costs are 491 million euro less, costs for social needs are cut by 211 million euro and military spending - by 306 million euro.