Yiannis Micheloyiannakis, a 49-year-old cardiologist from Crete, dropped out of the parliamentary group of the Democratic Left party, the ruling coalition’s junior partner which has already voiced scepticism about the scope of the cuts.

The three-party coalition now has 176 deputies in the 300-seat parliament ahead of a crucial austerity vote expected next month.

A long-term socialist kicked out of the Pasok party in February for opposing a previous round of cuts, Micheloyannakis announced his decision to his party leader and the head of parliament, the state-run Athens News Agency said.

Samaras had earlier expelled Nikos Stavrogiannis from his New Democracy party’s parliamentary group, after the MP declared he would not support the spending cuts which are vital to secure a new round of international aid.

A vote over the 13.5 billion euro ($17.6 billion) austerity package is expected soon, although no date has been set, and Samaras wants to send a strong message that he expects all party members to be on board.

The New Democracy disciplinary committee will now have to decide whether to expel Stavrogiannis completely from the party, which itself now holds 127 seats in parliament.

“My conscience does not allow me to vote for measures which degrade those who are weakest financially,” Stavrogiannis, who has been an MP since 2004, said on Sunday.

Greece is currently negotiating with a troika of creditors — the EU, International Monetary Fund and European Central Bank, over the spending cuts that will unblock a 31.2-billion-euro tranche of aid from its rescue loans.

Greece, which has relied on international aid for its economic survival for more than two years and is heading for its sixth straight year of recession, badly needs the new funds to recapitalise banks and repay outstanding domestic debts.

Samaras said last week that Greece only has enough money until mid-November but that he is confident the next instalment will be given by the end of next month.

The new austerity package, which reportedly includes drastic salary and pension cuts, has caused many protests in the opposition but also some friction within the coalition government, which also includes the Socialist Pasok party and the moderate leftist Democratic Left.

The Democratic Left warned last week that it would oppose further cuts to the minimum wage if they were put to a vote.