Slovakia Approves EU Bailout

Slovakia to the rescue. After voting down the measure Tuesday, Slovakia’s Parliament has approved a plan to expand the European Union’s financial-rescue program. In a desperate attempt to force a partner in the country's ruling coalition to approve the measure, the prime minister tied the bailout to a confidence vote in the government. But the coalition partner continued to oppose the bailout, and the government collapsed. In the second attempt to pass the bailout, the main opposition party agreed to vote in favor in exchange for early elections. Slovakia was the last of the 17 euro-zone nations to approve the bailout.