Greece’s Tsipras to call confidence vote

Greek Prime Minister

Alexis Tsipras yesterday said he would call a confidence vote in his government after his coalition ally quit, leaving him bereft of a parliamentary majority and raising the possibility of snap elections.

Earlier, Greece’s right-wing defence minister resigned in protest at a deal ending a long-running dispute with Macedonia over its name, saying he was taking his other six ministers in cabinet with him.

Panos Kammenos’s Independent Greeks party had seven MPs, enough to get Tsipras’s administration past the threshold of 150 deputies in the 300-member parliament. Tsipras’s Syriza party has 145 seats and also the support of one independent lawmaker.