After a marathon session in Greece’s parliament that stretched past the deadline, MPs narrowly approved a harsh package of austerity and economic policy changes that were demanding by the country’s European creditors to unlock the 86 Billion-Euro bailout.

Assuming the European creditors make good on their part of the bargain, it is the last hurdle Greece needs to clear – for now.  The people will pay with changes to value-added taxes, the retirement age, and pensions; in exchange, Greece avoids insolvency, the collapse of the banking system, and the country’s exit from the Euro.

As expected, it was passed with the approval of MPs from the former ruling New Democracy Party, which got Greece into this mess with the EU in the first place, and other pro-Europe conservative parties.  Most of the ruling Syriza party Left Platform alliance rejected it – including former Economy Minister Yanis Varoufakis, whose blog details in English the next round of horrors coming for civilians who had nothing to do with the banks’ problems.  It’s troubling reading for sure, with predictions of a new wave of evictions on the near horizon.