the vote is a farce under the pretence of democracy. It will make zero difference to the outcome. How can it?

It can, because first of all the EU’s plan to depose Tsipras and install the imbecile mayor of Athens will have to be put on ice, perhaps indefinitely. The EU is no respecter of democracy, but they try not to be too blatant. Secondly, in the last week the schism between the IMF and the EU has become more evident, and it will be harder to sweep the issue of debt relief under the rug. Thirdly, the population of Greece has gven an endorsement to Syriza that is bigger than any vote these EU dwarves have themselves received – if they react in a bitter and vengeful way they are aware that the voters in other countries will start to wonder about what Europe really means.

In short – your economic text books, with their unrealistic assumptions – always a poor predictor of reality – go out of the window at times like this.

Greece has gven an endorsement to Syriza that is bigger than any vote these EU dwarves have themselves received – if they react in a bitter and vengeful way they are aware that the voters in other countries will start to wonder about what Europe really means.

It is precisely the political consequences of victory/success for the anti-austerity forces which has motivated the unelected and antidemocratic European institutions all along, not economic reality.

Committed to the Euro and the EU as they are Syriza will simply use the no vote result as a lever to negotiate a “different” agreement but one which is still fundamentally to the detriment of the Greek people.

Tsipras is far too much a supporter of the Euro and the EU to defeat or even seriously challenge the antidemocratic nature of the EU and its institutions.

Well doc, I’m afraid the outcome is clear and well known to all. The only question is timing. So sorry, the referendum was a smart (?) bit of politics to allow Tsipras to play the blame game. But beyond that nothing, ??????.

If it gives Greeks a temporary lift that so be it, but the good feeling will soon evaporate. The messy end game to the flawed project is now about to be played out.

It;s a shame that the democratically elected government didn’t have the balls to make a decision of behalf of the people …
Now they can blame everyone else ….

If it gives Greeks a temporary lift that so be it, but the good feeling will soon evaporate. The messy end game to the flawed project is now about to be played out.

The most disturbing thing about this is the assumption that the wishes and interests of normal people are irrelevant. Whatever the end result and consequences, it’s pretty clear that, for once, the people have stood up to the corrupt and self-interested politicians, bankers, financiers and industrialists who have corruptly and flagrantly defrauded an entire nation. Hopefully a sensible solution will now be found. However if the greeks are thrown to the dogs, I predict worse trouble ahead once Spain, Portugal and Italy go the same way. Whatever happens though the Greeks can be proud of themselves tonight I think.

Where do you think the money for the Greeks is going to come from. The tooth fairy?

If they have to they’ll create their own money and drop out of the euro. Extreme short term pain for potentially long term recovery. The existing solution of permanent depression and ever increasing debt to paper over the cracks of a failed economic experiment is not a solution.

DrJ

Maybe the Greeks should take some responsibility for their recent overspending. They have been lent money by banks …. but it wasn’t compulsory to spend it all …

You know when your credit card bill comes in at the end on the month ….

Umm … that’s just what they are doing – trying to devise a plan that sees them able to pay back the loans. The household finance analogy doesn’t work, as THM has pointed out, because even when you cut spending on bike bits to pay your Visa, your salary still rolls in the same. A country’s income depends also on the money going round and round, so it’s like if you spend less on bike bits, your salary goes down and you can’t afford the Visa bill any more.