Germany faces big test over crucial EU bailout vote

BERLIN?? German Chancellor Angela Merkel faces a critical challenge to her authority on Thursday when some of her coalition, worried about throwing good money after bad by bailing out Greece, could humiliate her in a vote on euro-zone rescue plans.

1. Only on msnbc.com

   1. Tainted cantaloupe likely gone; more illness expected
   2. Building doctors for the future
   3. After abuse, shattered smiles bring shame, stigma
   4. ?Chicks with Guns?: 15 million US women pack heat
   5. Hijack fugitive caught after 40 years
   6. GM?s OnStar service raises privacy alarms
   7. 'Sister' cons woman out of $2,000 on Facebook

Support from the center-left opposition will ensure Germany passes the bill on new powers for the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF), which some countries like Finland have ratified but others, including Slovakia, are disputing.

But if dissent in her coalition forces Merkel to rely on opposition votes to pass the new powers for the 440 billion euro ($600 billion) rescue fund, it would be politically damaging for the conservative chancellor and undermine her ability to pilot fresh measures to combat the euro zone debt crisis.

The lawmakers ? under close scrutiny from jittery markets ? are voting on European leaders' decision in July to increase the effective lending capacity of the fund to 440 billion euro ($595 billion) and give it new powers, such as buying the bonds of shaky countries or lending money to governments before they get into a full-blown crisis.

Story: Global markets anxiously wait as Europe stews on Greece

Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU) and their allies were pressuring a handful of dissidents to get in line before the vote at 11 a.m. (5 a.m. ET). It should be clear about half an hour after that the EFSF has been passed, but any word on how many government lawmakers rebelled could take another hour.

"We are working to convince people," CDU second-in-command Hermann Groehe told Reuters. He said "it will be close" but the government would not put itself in the humiliating position of depending on the Social Democrats (SPD) and Greens.

Highlighted tensions
Merkel's center-right coalition has been strained by members who have balked at the cost of propping up the eurozone's strugglers.

Germany is the biggest economy among the 17-countries that use the euro currency and has to contribute more than others to boosting the firepower of the bailout fund. If passed, Germany will be guaranteeing loans in future to the tune of up to 211 billion euro, rather than 123 billion euro so far.

Stocks tumble sharply, ending 3-day win streak

"Today we will make an important contribution to our nation, to Europe and to the stability of the euro," Volker Kauder, the parliamentary leader of Merkel's bloc, said in opening remarks on the debate.

Markets remain in a fairly jittery mood over Europe's handling of its debt crisis. Shares in Europe have opened modestly lower Thursday.

Though Merkel described the euro as "our common future" and said approving the beefed-up bailout fund was "of the very, very greatest significance," she has not mustered the support of all member of her governing coalition.

Discussions went deep into the night in an attempt to win support of as many ruling lawmakers as possible, in an effort to secure a solid enough majority so that the government doesn't need the opposition's votes to pass the measure. At least a small group of lawmakers plan to vote against.

Opposition leaders have said that if Merkel's coalition has to rely on their votes, it would be a sign that her strife-prone and increasingly unpopular government is finished.

On Wednesday, Finland voted in favor of expanding the fund's powers despite earlier threats to pull out of a rescue plan for Greece.

The fund expansion has to be ratified by all 17 eurozone nations to take force.

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44713324/ns/world_news-europe/

hatteras island plantar fasciitis cmp region region jay z lockerbie bomber