by Andrew Jay Rosenbaum
ANKARA
The Greek bailout is on track as Germany looks set to vote approval on Wednesday, and the Greek government avoided a confidence vote.
German officials, who had raised a critical chorus of the Greek bailout terms, have changed their tune.
In an interview with ZDF television late on Monday, German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schauble said that there had been "important progress" in the Greek government's policy for the bailout.
Schauble said that he would work with "complete conviction" for approval of the Greek bailout deal in the German parliament on Wednesday, when the question will be put to a vote.
"From all points of view, this is the right decision," Schauble said.
Schauble did not comment on the paper that he circulated on Thursday, in which concern was raised about "open questions" that the Greek bailout deal did not address.
One of these "open questions" involved the participation of the International Monetary Fund in the bailout. For the German government, such participation is considered absolutely necessary.
"I am certain that the IMF will participate in the program," Schauble insisted. The IMF has said that a decision will be made on participation in September.
Although 60 German lawmakers have already stated their intention to vote against the bailout, the deal is expected to pass thanks to support from the ruling coalition government.
Both Schauble and German Chancellor Angela Merkel have warned that Greece must stick strictly to the bailout program if funding for the cash-strapped country is to continue.
Schauble told the Bild newspaper on Sunday that "reforms must be implemented point-by-point, and we will be watching closely".
In Greece, the government is moving ahead with bailout implementation, having avoided a confidence vote which could have resulted in early elections.
The confidence vote, which was due to take place on Sunday, was cancelled. Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has not set a new date for the vote.
Instead, Tsipras is to meet with his economic advisors this week to discuss how the bailout funds will be used, a Greek government spokesman told the press on Monday. The European Stability Mechanism will issue a decision on releasing the first tranche of bailout funds on Wednesday.
Tsipras also wants to discuss continuing compliance with the bailout terms. Technical teams from Greece's institutional creditors -- the IMF, the European Central Bank, and the EU -- will return in October to review the program’s implementation.
Tsipras is reportedly considering how to ensure that bailout progress will not be impeded by political developments. Although he is facing a revolt from the left wing of the Syriza coalition, he will reportedly seek to delay any major political changes that could interfere with the bailout, at least until the October meetings are underway.
The bailout agreement with the Eurogroup and the institutional creditors calls for €86 billion ($95.5 billion) in bailout loans over three years, with a first tranche of €26 billion ($28.8 billion), along with a series of far-reaching economic reforms to be passed by the Greek parliament. Some of these have already been passed.
The first tranche of the bailout willl cover a €3.2 billion ($3.5 billion) payment to the European Central Bank that Greece must make on Thursday.
