In These New Times

I must admit that I assumed there would be a “Yes” vote given Greece’s abiding commitment to the Eurozone. Tsipras may have known better and the incredible antics of himself and Yaroufakis may have had this covert goal: to achieve an exit from the Eurozone without seeking explicit approval from the Greek people. It’s also possible that this goal is shared by certain European partners, notably Scheuble. This would explain the deliberate burning of boats to the creditors which Yaroufakis’ resignation can hardly undo. This vote is being hailed by the left and eurosceptic right as victory over austerity. However, if the result is that Greece no longer has currency to pay for imports, on which it is totally dependent, the austerity phase will simply transition to the humanitarian crisis phase for which Martin Schulz has quite rightly called on Europe to prepare.

India Times

6th July, 2015

Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras may have won a victory at home on Sunday as the Greek people dealt a resounding “no” to European austerity policies.

But Greece risks paying a high price for that decision.