The World - News from July 9, 1989

Greece’s new conservative-Communist government coalition won its first confidence vote in Parliament, clearing the way for the prosecution of former Prime Minister Andreas Papandreou and other defeated Socialists. The unprecedented coalition won 174 votes in the 300-seat Parliament after a stormy debate in which Socialist deputies denounced a decision to name Papandreou as a target for criminal investigation. The confidence vote, required by the constitution, was the last procedural hurdle before the coalition could start work on lifting immunity and prosecuting former Socialist ministers for alleged involvement in financial scandals.