Germany Backs Aid Plan for Greece, but at a Cost to Merkel.

BERLIN -- In the face of mounting public opposition, Germany's Parliament approved by an overwhelming margin the latest European rescue package for Greece, though the vote could prove politically costly for Chancellor Angela Merkel. Even as doubts continued to grow here that Greece's finances can be stabilized in the long run, 496 members of the Bundestag voted to sign off on the $175 billion Greek rescue package while just 90 voted against and 5 members abstained. With the vote in hand, Mrs. Merkel can now travel to Brussels for a summit meeting of European leaders on Thursday and Friday with the parliamentary approval necessary to agree to a deal European finance ministers reached last week to keep Greece from a disorderly default. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]