German finance minister Wolfgang Schäuble opened the crucial Bundestag debate on the Greece rescue plan on Wednesday saying it would be “irresponsible” not to give Athens the chance to take the road to economic recovery.

His carefully-worded appeal addressed the key concerns of sceptical MPs — including Greece’s high debt burden, the role of the International Monetary Fund in the plan and Greece’s uncertain record in implementing reforms.

Mr Schäuble, who until a month ago aired serious reservations about the rescue, conceded that there was “no guarantee that everything will function” in the €86bn three-year programme and “doubts were permitted”.

But he said the plan agreed at last month’s acrimonious eurogroup summit and the detailed programme backed last week by eurogroup finance ministers offered Athens a chance.

He added: “It would now be irresponsible not to use the opportunity for a new start in Greece. If Greece stands by its obligations and implements the programme in full and with determination, then the Greek economy can grow again. The opportunity is on offer. And whether it is used, only the Greeks will decide.”

The German parliament is widely expected to pass the legislation and open the door for the ESM, the EU’s rescue mechanism, to pay out the first money later on Wednesday, in time for Athens to make a crucial €3.2bn debt repayment to the European Central Bank on Thursday.

But managers from chancellor Angela Merkel’s ruling CDU/CSU bloc are watching anxiously to see how many of their own MPs will rebel and oppose the plan. Last month, 60 of the grouping’s 311 members voted against even starting negotiations. Five more abstained.

At a party meeting on Tuesday night, 56 CDU/CSU MPs voted against the plan in an informal poll, according to news reports. Four more abstained. However, some 20 did not participate in the poll, so leaving open the possibility that there could be more rebels this time than in July.

Meanwhile on Wednesday the Dutch parliament also looked set to support the Greek bailout after the governing liberal party said it would back the package despite its “many doubts”.

Support from the People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD), which is the party of Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte, had been in doubt going into Wednesday’s debate on the rescue package in The Hague.

If VVD had opposed the measure, Mr Rutte would have faced calls to resign as prime minister. But the VVD opted to support the deal after a meeting on Tuesday.

Mark Harbers, a VVD MP who has led his party’s criticism of Greece, said that voting against the measure would pit the Netherlands against its hardline allies across Europe, such as Germany.

“It wouldn’t make much sense if the Netherlands would be isolated,” said Mr Harbers.

The move marks a calculated u-turn by the VVD, which enjoys as majority of just one seat as part of a two-party coalition with the Labour party.

The Dutch government will still face a confidence vote launched by anti-Islam populist MP Geert Wilders, although it is expected to fail.