Greece's new coalition government has won a vote of confidence in the country's parliament.

Well over half of the lawmakers in the assembly voted to support the centrist coalition of conservative Prime Minister Antonis Samaras.

"You have followed the decisions of a three-party government that wants to proceed with reforms and change the country needs," Samaras told members of parliament just prior to the vote.

The vote came as little surprise as the three parties in the coalition - Samaras' conservative New Democracy, the socialist PASOK, and the moderate Democratic Left  - account for 179 of the 300 seats in parliament. 

One of Samaras' main tasks is to implement political reforms that had been delayed by the political uncertainty that marked the period between the country's inconclusive April election and the one that brought his coalition to power last month.

Pledge to soften the blow

The government that Samaras cobbled together after coming out on top in the June general election, has pledged to seek to renegotiate the terms of an international bailout for Greece, which has forced the previous governments to impose tough, unpopular austerity measures on the population.

The main goal is to get the European Union and the International Monetary Fund to give the government more time to meet the conditions of the 130-billion-euro ($160 billion) bailout, which is the second that Greece has been forced to accept in order to avoid becoming insolvent.

The parliamentary confidence vote came as international auditors were in Athens, where they were continuing to examine the government's books. Their findings, which are expected to be made public in the coming few weeks, will determine whether the EU and IMF will continue making payments to Greece under the second bailout.

pfd/mr (AFP, dpa)