German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s fractious coalition won a brief reprieve on Thursday, as lawmakers from the center-right ruling parties closed ranks and passed legislation to expand the euro-zone’s bailout fund.
……A total of 523 lawmakers voted in favor of the EFSF reform bill; 85 voted against, with three abstentions. The overall result includes the votes of the opposition Social Democrats and the environmentalist Greens, who unanimously backed the bill in stark contrast to Ms. Merkel’s unruly coalition.
……The 17 euro-zone governments agreed in March and July to expand and reform the EFSF, boosting the lending capacity of the fund to €440 billion ($596 billion) from €250 billion. The fund also will receive additional powers, such as the ability to extend credit lines to banks and buy bonds on the secondary market.
…….The temporary EFSF is set to expire in 2013 and to be replaced by a permanent European Stability Mechanism.