Greeks vote Sunday on whether to accept bailout demands that creditors were proposing to resolve the debt stand-off.
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For Tsipras, if voters back a bailout plan that he has scorned, his government is likely to fall, leading to new elections by September.
“If the International Monetary Fund and other creditors had this document while they were negotiating with the Greeks, it is completely unconscionable that they did not discuss deep debt relief”, he said.
June 28: The European Central Bank, one of Greece’s creditors, halts an emergency credit line to Greek banks. The outlook is worse now.
The IMF’s new “preliminary draft” debt sustainability analysis for the country said the changes in Greek policies and its financial outlook since early 2015 – roughly covering the period that the anti-austerity Syriza party and Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras have led the country – “have resulted in a substantial increase in financing needs”. That’s partly because of the damage Tsipras has done to the economy.
Tsipras said in his speech on Wednesday, “A “No” vote is a decisive step toward a better agreement that we aim to sign right after Sunday’s result”.
The idea was dismissed by the head of the eurozone finance ministers group, Jeroen Dijsselbloem.
“That suggestion is simply wrong”, Mr Dijsselbloem said in the Netherlands.
“It’s more the perception, the psychology and the precedent”, he said, “if (the Greeks) do leave”. On the other sat President Francois Hollande of France; around were a handful of officials.
The International Monetary Fund said the country’s finances had deteriorated because Athens had been slow about enacting economic reforms. “We are in something of an unknown”. Its up to the Greeks to respond..
The country has put limits on cash withdrawals to keep banks from collapsing after Greeks rushed to pull money out of ATMs following the referendum call at the start of the weekend.
The only full survey to be released since the referendum was announced showed the “No” vote ahead, but falling sharply after the announcement that banks would be shut.
Costas Christoforidis, a 37-year-old farmer, hasn’t decided how to vote Sunday.
But that particular proposal is no longer on the table. It was amended later in the week and has now been rendered moot by the fact that Greece’s worldwide bailout expired Tuesday. Greece has been in deadlock with its creditors for months but only called the referendum last week.
Meanwhile, Tsipras’s party Syriza is appealing to the country’s media watchdog to get private TV and radio stations to stop from what it called an “incomprehensible and unprecedented” campaign in favor of a Yes vote.
“UK banks’ exposures to Greece are very small relative to their capital bases”.
Tsipras said he would accept numerous proposals that he had previously rejected if Greece were allowed some additional leeway on points of contention like the level of a value-added tax and an easing of pension cuts.
It also means the country is without an global financial lifeline for the first time since 2010 – bringing more uncertainty for the Greek people who are already faced with closed banks and a €60 cap on daily cash withdrawals.
Weve been going through this crisis over the last five years and we had nothing to eat, our pensions and our wages have been slashed and some made a profit off us, said pensioner Koula Makri in a bank queue.
“It is the case that during the crisis, sometimes, there had to be creativity, new processes”, she said, “but I think we’ve always tried to respect the rules and to be as even-handed as we could”.
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In a bid to reassure voters, State Minister Nikos Pappas, one of Tsipras’ closest aides, denied speculation that the government would impose a levy on bank deposits.
