Greece's deputy prime minister has warned that rebel lawmakers may block some reforms sought by international lenders, though parliament will probably back an overall austerity package this week to avert national bankruptcy.
Adding to socialist Prime Minister George Papandreou's problems, the conservative opposition rejected appeals from the government and senior European Union politicians to vote in favour of the five-year plan.
Parliament is due to start debating the programme of tax increases and spending cuts worth €28bn tomorrow.
Mr Papandreou needs parliamentary approval this week to secure the next payment under a €110bn EU/IMF bailout.
Deputy prime minister Theodore Pangalos told Spanish newspaper El Mundo he was optimistic about overcoming discontent in his PASOK party to win a first round of general votes on tax and spending targets and the creation of a privatisation agency.
But he was more cautious about whether the government could push through further enabling legislation on individual budget measures and privatisation of specific state assets.
Approval of specific laws to enact painful fiscal reforms and privatisations may be more difficult to achieve, he said.
Without the next €12bn tranche of funding from the IMF and European Union, Greece faces the prospect next month of becoming the first eurozone country to default, sending shockwaves through a fragile global financial system.
But many Greeks who have lost jobs or seen their real income decline by nearly one-fifth over the last two years have reacted angrily to measures they say fail to target wealthy tax evaders whom they regard as responsible for Greece's plight.
A peaceful crowd of around 1,000 people gathered today in Syntagma square outside parliament, which was protected by a line of riot police.
