"This parliament, during this four-year term, could be the one to see Greece’s exit from the economic crisis and its return to growth", Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said in his speech concluding the three-day parliamentary debate on the government's policy statement.

Tsipras won the backing of all 155 governing coalition deputies in the 300-seat chamber. The main opposition parties had made it clear that he could not count on their support.

As the PM noted, the government’s first objective is to complete the first review of Greece’s third bailout program within November, so that by the end of the year bank recapitalization could be completed and the debate on debt relief could begin. These developments, he said, will fulfill the conditions for the return to positive growth rates in the first half of 2016, and for a gradual restoration of economic stability and investor trust, so that in early 2017 Greece may regain access to international debt markets.

The ruling coalition parliamentary group will be tested in the coming weeks during votes on reforms, tax hikes and pension cuts that Greece must enact. The premier has promised to find ways to ease the social pain that the bailout will entail for the poorest Greeks, and has vowed to find alternative measures for some of the unpopular policies sought by creditors.