But the government suffered a loss in its parliamentary majority after lawmaker Dimitris Kammenos of the nationalist Independent Greeks, the government's junior coalition partner, voted in favor. Speaking during the debate, Defense Minister and Independent Greeks head Panos Kammenos stressed that voting against the no-confidence motion was not a vote in favor of the Macedonia name deal, which he vowed to reject when it is eventually brought to parliament. The motion was brought by the conservative New Democracy party which accused the government of making too many concessions over the agreement which will eventually see the small country - which declared independence from Yugoslavia in 1991 - renamed the Republic of North Macedonia. Tsipras — whose coalition commands 154 of the parliament’s 300 seats — was widely expected to survive the vote, after his coalition partner, Independent Greeks, vowed to support him despite its opposition to the Macedonia deal and its pledge to vote against the agreement when it is put to a vote later this year. The head of New Democracy, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, criticized Tsipras for not having sought out a consensus with the other political parties, including with ANEL, and called on lawmakers who were against the agreement to vote for the no-confidence motion. The European Union, the United Nations, the U.S. and NATO all welcomed the agreement, which changes the country’s name to the Republic of North Macedonia and is likely to facilitate the Balkan nation’s bid for EU and NATO membership.
The coalition government of Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras survives a vote of no-confidence brought by the opposition party over a deal to end the dispute.