A man raises his arms as he leaves a polling booth during a referendum vote in Athens, Greece, on July 5, 2015.
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MARTIN CUDDIHY: Prime minister Alexis Tsipras says negotiations with creditors will begin later today.
Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis has said that with a “No” vote, Greek banks would reopen on Tuesday.
However, despite the hard talk from European leaders in the run-up to the referendum, the sheer size of the Greek No vote will make it extremely difficult for them to continue to play hardball with Tsipras. He said there had been no new proposals from his side since Greek leaders walked out of negotiations last week and called the snap referendum.
Among the many assurances that Tsipras dispensed during the frantic campaign was that he would be able to clinch a deal with the country’s lenders within “48 hours”.
Greece could be the first country to be forced out of the eurozone, the bloc of 19 European nations that have given up their currencies and use the euro instead.
“This is not a mandate of rupture with Europe, but a mandate that bolsters our negotiating strength to achieve a viable deal”, he added.
Varoufakis said accepting the creditors’ terms would be a “permanent condemnation” while rejecting it would offer the “only prospect for recovery”.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande will meet in Paris on Monday afternoon.
Voters are being asked to give their verdict on a draft financial rescue the Greek government has rejected, and Europe has allowed to lapse.
“I believe such a result can be used as a strong negotiating tool so that Europeans can understand that we are not a colony”, said Nefeli Dimou, a 23-year-old student in Athens.
Senior German conservative Michael Fuchs told the Reuters news agency that Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras had caused a “disaster”.
He told the Tagesspiegel newspaper that Mr Tsipras had “torn down the last bridges, across which Europe and Greece could move toward a compromise”.
Belgian Finance Minister Johan Van Overtveldt: “This likely “No” complicates matters”, but insisted the door remained open to resume talks with the Greek government within hours.
Time has run out for Greece, which is dealing with an economy in a protracted recession, with high unemployment and banks dangerously low on capital.
The euro fell across the board in Asian markets after the referendum.
Despite the Greek government’s assertion that a “no” vote will not lead to a euro exit, most experts agree it would open up more uncertain financial outcomes.
Banks have been shut all week, and ATM withdrawals are limited to 60 euros a day. Large lines once again formed at ATMs on Sunday. Greece struck a deal with the European Union (EU) in February to get 7 billion euros ($8 billion) in extra bailout funds, in exchange for economic reforms.
A few essential services are starting to feel the pinch, too. No country has ever left the 19-member eurozone, established in 1999. Tsipras was voted into office in January on a promise to repeal bailout austerity.
Greek voters go to the polls today in a crunch referendum on the country’s debt deal, with the impact set to ripple across the rest of Europe whatever the result.
“We had made all the necessary concessions”.
Greeks have voted overwhelmingly to reject bailout terms offered by Greece’s global creditors.
“We don’t want austerity measures anymore”.
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He said if the European Union wants to keep Greece in the eurozone, it will have to come up with “a very generous plan” since the cost of the crisis has shot up to unanticipated levels.
