The law to break up the state-owned Public Power Corporation (PPC) was approved late last night by the House’s reduced summer session with 51 out of 100 MPs voting in favor of the creation of the so-called “small PPC” and 46 voting against. The passing of the bill is one of the six prior actions that EU states require the government to fulfill in order for Greece to receive a further 1-billion euro bailout to save the country from bankruptcy.

The approval of the legislation came with criticism from unions and the opposition parties who have not given up their efforts to force a discussion about a referendum on the sale. The Coalition of the Radical Left (SYRIZA) failed in its attempt to get the minimum of 120 MPs to back such a proposal, however four out of six separate requests for a referendum have already been submitted. The Independent Greeks (ANEL) wasted no time submitting their proposal straight after the voting ended, followed by all-night meetings between opposition parties in a bid to find a common line.

Parliament Speaker Vangelis Meimarakis has maintained that separate requests for a referendum should be polled together, however this process is complicated by the fact that SYRIZA and the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) don’t want the votes of the ultranationalist Golden Dawn MPs to be added to theirs.

The coalition government believes that the objections to the legislation are disparate. For instance, the Democratic Left (DIMAR) party will ask for a liberalization of the energy market when it submits its request today in direct opposition to the demands of the KKE that wants a retroactive abolition of legislation to that effect while Golden Dawn wants to nationalize all energy producers.

Last night, liberal New Democracy (ND) Prime Minister Antonis Samaras and socialist Panhellenic Social Movement (PASOK) Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos came to a compromise agreement to allow the objections to be counted together, however said the final agreement should be made by the 100 members of the reduced summer session so that the matter could come to a quick close.