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The streets are calm but Greece is haunted by fear of civil strife The streets are calm but Greece is haunted by fear of civil strife
(35 minutes later)
Fearful, angry, divided. This is Greece on the eve of a referendum that could define the country for generations to come. After five years at the centre of Europe’s eviscerating debt crisis, Greeks will have their rendezvous with history on Sunday – and many fear that they will live with the bitter legacy of the vote for decades.Fearful, angry, divided. This is Greece on the eve of a referendum that could define the country for generations to come. After five years at the centre of Europe’s eviscerating debt crisis, Greeks will have their rendezvous with history on Sunday – and many fear that they will live with the bitter legacy of the vote for decades.
“We have a government in panic, people being called traitors and German collaborators, and a vote of despair,” said the prominent sociologist Aliki Mouriki. “I worry that if things go wrong, if more shortages of food and medicines appear, we’ll soon be looking at a situation where primitive instincts come to the fore.”“We have a government in panic, people being called traitors and German collaborators, and a vote of despair,” said the prominent sociologist Aliki Mouriki. “I worry that if things go wrong, if more shortages of food and medicines appear, we’ll soon be looking at a situation where primitive instincts come to the fore.”
Which way will they go? In or out of the eurozone? With polls suggesting the race is too close to call, nobody knows. What they do know – what cannot be hidden even by the eerie calm on the streets of Athens – is that in their epic struggle to remain in the single currency, this is a turning point.Which way will they go? In or out of the eurozone? With polls suggesting the race is too close to call, nobody knows. What they do know – what cannot be hidden even by the eerie calm on the streets of Athens – is that in their epic struggle to remain in the single currency, this is a turning point.
The bombshell decision of the prime minister, Alexis Tsipras, to hold a plebiscite over the terms of future financial assistance for the debt-stricken nation will determine the future of Greece within Europe, a future now hanging by a thread. And it threatens to open deep fissures that have lain hidden for generations, having first emerged in the violent aftermath of the second world war – between Greece and Germany, and among Greeks themselves. The bombshell decision of the prime minister, Alexis Tsipras, to hold a plebiscite over the terms of future financial assistance for the debt-stricken nation will determine the future of Greece within Europe, a future now hanging by a thread.
The gravity of the moment is not lost on Greeks. As tens of thousands attended competing Yes and No rallies in the heart of the capital on Friday, emotions were running high. For this is also a battle between the power of Yes and the power of No: Yes to Europe and its modernising effect; No to austerity, the levelling effects of tax increases and budget cuts and a life bereft of dignity. And it is a battle that has entered every family, every home. In parliament, in villages great and small, Greeks are now openly harking back to the 1946-49 civil war, a conflict that took decades to overcome. To belong to the Yes camp is to belong to the right; to belong to the No camp to belong to the left. And it threatens to open deep fissures that have lain hidden for generations, having first emerged in the violent aftermath of the second world war – between Greece and Germany, and among Greeks themselves.
The gravity of the moment is not lost on Greeks. As tens of thousands attended competing Yes and No rallies in the heart of the capital on Friday, emotions were running high. For this is also a battle between the power of Yes and the power of No: Yes to Europe and its modernising effect; No to austerity, the levelling effects of tax increases and budget cuts and a life bereft of dignity.
Related: Greek referendum: Germany says it won’t leave Greece in the lurch
And it is a battle that has entered every family, every home. In parliament, in villages great and small, Greeks are now openly harking back to the 1946-49 civil war, a conflict that took decades to overcome. To belong to the Yes camp is to belong to the right; to belong to the No camp to belong to the left.
“By their very nature plebiscites are divisive,” said Aristides Hatzis, associate professor of law and economics at Athens University. “But more people have been radicalised over the past week than ever before. What we now have is a great divide, a schism that will influence Greek politics for the next 20 years.”“By their very nature plebiscites are divisive,” said Aristides Hatzis, associate professor of law and economics at Athens University. “But more people have been radicalised over the past week than ever before. What we now have is a great divide, a schism that will influence Greek politics for the next 20 years.”
Political niceties, like diplomacy, were levelled by this crisis long ago. Last night, the streets of Athens were lined with placards depicting a defiant German finance minister, Wolfgang Schäuble, under the words: “Five years he has been sucking your blood. Now tell him NO.” Others declared: “We are writing history, we are saying NO.”Political niceties, like diplomacy, were levelled by this crisis long ago. Last night, the streets of Athens were lined with placards depicting a defiant German finance minister, Wolfgang Schäuble, under the words: “Five years he has been sucking your blood. Now tell him NO.” Others declared: “We are writing history, we are saying NO.”
By morning the No camp may well be the irresistible force that meets the immovable object. Tsipras has repeatedly urged Greeks to reject the terms of proposals that, he says, amount to “blackmail” and “ultimatums” from the EU and International Monetary Fund. His radical left Syriza party is fully in control of the state and has a masterful propaganda machine.By morning the No camp may well be the irresistible force that meets the immovable object. Tsipras has repeatedly urged Greeks to reject the terms of proposals that, he says, amount to “blackmail” and “ultimatums” from the EU and International Monetary Fund. His radical left Syriza party is fully in control of the state and has a masterful propaganda machine.
Fury with Germany – the main contributor of Athens’s €240bn bailout programme and the architect of the biting austerity that has been the price of such aid – is at an all-time high. After five months of ultimately fruitless negotiations between the leftist-led administration and international creditors, there are few who do not associate Berlin with the implacable demands that have left destruction in their wake.Fury with Germany – the main contributor of Athens’s €240bn bailout programme and the architect of the biting austerity that has been the price of such aid – is at an all-time high. After five months of ultimately fruitless negotiations between the leftist-led administration and international creditors, there are few who do not associate Berlin with the implacable demands that have left destruction in their wake.
Record levels of poverty and unemployment in an economy that has contracted by more than 25% are blamed, squarely, on Germany. “These are our German brothers,” said Giorgos Delezos as tourists traipsed by his gift shop in the capital’s ancient Plaka district. “These are the people who really won the war,” he bellowed as his iPhone, resting on a table outside the shop, blared the rumbustious tones of Erika, the marching song beloved of Hitler’s Waffen SS. “This is why I will be voting No all the way to the Reichstag.”Record levels of poverty and unemployment in an economy that has contracted by more than 25% are blamed, squarely, on Germany. “These are our German brothers,” said Giorgos Delezos as tourists traipsed by his gift shop in the capital’s ancient Plaka district. “These are the people who really won the war,” he bellowed as his iPhone, resting on a table outside the shop, blared the rumbustious tones of Erika, the marching song beloved of Hitler’s Waffen SS. “This is why I will be voting No all the way to the Reichstag.”
Greece’s eurozone partners have also come to a fork in the road. Tsipras’s shock announcement of the popular vote, four days before the expiry of the country’s bailout programme on 30 June, appears to have been the straw that broke the camel’s back. With varying degrees of solemnity, Athens has been told that a No vote would be tantamount to rupture with Europe; the signal that the incompatible couple were finally heading for divorce. Rejecting the Greek leader’s assertion that a No vote would strengthen his country’s hand, the EU president Jean-Claude Juncker racheted up the pressure last week, pronouncing that if the outcome is No, “the Greek position is dramatically weakened”. Greece’s eurozone partners have also come to a fork in the road. Tsipras’s shock announcement of the popular vote, four days before the expiry of the country’s bailout programme on 30 June, appears to have been the straw that broke the camel’s back.
With varying degrees of solemnity, Athens has been told that a No vote would be tantamount to rupture with Europe; the signal that the incompatible couple were finally heading for divorce. Rejecting the Greek leader’s assertion that a No vote would strengthen his country’s hand, the EU president Jean-Claude Juncker racheted up the pressure last week, pronouncing that if the outcome is No, “the Greek position is dramatically weakened”.
On Saturday, the rhetoric escalated further with the flamboyant finance minister Yanis Varoufakis accusing foreign lenders of terrorism and “instilling fear in people” after the Syriza-led coalition was forced to close banks and implement capital controls from Monday.On Saturday, the rhetoric escalated further with the flamboyant finance minister Yanis Varoufakis accusing foreign lenders of terrorism and “instilling fear in people” after the Syriza-led coalition was forced to close banks and implement capital controls from Monday.
Another government minister, speaking on condition that his identity was not revealed, told the Observer: “There is tension. A coup d’etat is in progress by Schäuble. They don’t want us, they don’t want Tsipras and nobody can predict how people full of fear will react. I am very afraid that next week there will be no unity. I am very afraid for my country.”Another government minister, speaking on condition that his identity was not revealed, told the Observer: “There is tension. A coup d’etat is in progress by Schäuble. They don’t want us, they don’t want Tsipras and nobody can predict how people full of fear will react. I am very afraid that next week there will be no unity. I am very afraid for my country.”
The closure of banks, the sight of panic-stricken pensioners – many in tears as they queued for state handouts of a paltry €120 (£86) to get by – the food and drug shortages, the collapse of economic activity, have been quick to bolster the Yes vote. Many fear that Greece is sleepwalking towards chaos.The closure of banks, the sight of panic-stricken pensioners – many in tears as they queued for state handouts of a paltry €120 (£86) to get by – the food and drug shortages, the collapse of economic activity, have been quick to bolster the Yes vote. Many fear that Greece is sleepwalking towards chaos.
The desire to say No to the excoriating policies that have been set as the price of Athens’s place at the heart of Europe may be stalking the country, but natural No voters are moving in droves to the Yes camp.The desire to say No to the excoriating policies that have been set as the price of Athens’s place at the heart of Europe may be stalking the country, but natural No voters are moving in droves to the Yes camp.
With their country skirting so close to the edge – staring at the abyss that threatens to open with the reintroduction of the drachma – to do otherwise would be to court disaster.With their country skirting so close to the edge – staring at the abyss that threatens to open with the reintroduction of the drachma – to do otherwise would be to court disaster.
“Tsipras constantly avoids saying what will happen if there is rupture,” sighed Kostas Markopoulos, a young public relations consultant who voted for the radical leftists when they were catapulted into office in January. “There is no plan B. I don’t believe Syriza understood the challenge in its entirety or the size of the consequences if things go wrong. It’s made so many mistakes. I really don’t think it would be able to handle the transition.” “Tsipras constantly avoids saying what will happen if there is rupture,” sighed Kostas Markopoulos, a young public relations consultant who voted for the radical leftists when they were catapulted into office in January.
“There is no plan B. I don’t believe Syriza understood the challenge in its entirety or the size of the consequences if things go wrong. It’s made so many mistakes. I really don’t think it would be able to handle the transition.”
Those who stand to be hardest hit by a new round of austerity – including a proposed 23% tax on restaurants – are also rallying to the Yes camp amid fears that tourism, the engine of the Greek economy, will be damaged irreparably if a euro exit occurs. Last week saw mass cancellations by hundreds of thousands of holidaymakers.Those who stand to be hardest hit by a new round of austerity – including a proposed 23% tax on restaurants – are also rallying to the Yes camp amid fears that tourism, the engine of the Greek economy, will be damaged irreparably if a euro exit occurs. Last week saw mass cancellations by hundreds of thousands of holidaymakers.
“With a heavy heart I will vote Yes even if my own business will suffer terribly,” said Photis Papathanasiou, who owns a chain of taverns in Plaka. “The alternative will kill our country.”“With a heavy heart I will vote Yes even if my own business will suffer terribly,” said Photis Papathanasiou, who owns a chain of taverns in Plaka. “The alternative will kill our country.”
Fears that Greeks could lose up to 30% of bank savings over €8,000 – if, as rumoured, the government is forced to go ahead with a Cypriot-style “bail-in” of deposit accounts – have exacerbated the electric mood. So, too, have the growing signs that banks are being fast depleted of cash. Without a further injection of liquidity from the European Central Bank, Varoufakis has admitted that the country will face a problem with “paper money” by Monday.Fears that Greeks could lose up to 30% of bank savings over €8,000 – if, as rumoured, the government is forced to go ahead with a Cypriot-style “bail-in” of deposit accounts – have exacerbated the electric mood. So, too, have the growing signs that banks are being fast depleted of cash. Without a further injection of liquidity from the European Central Bank, Varoufakis has admitted that the country will face a problem with “paper money” by Monday.
In a country torn by anger and despair, hope itself has become a revolutionary act. Forward or backward, an economic death spiral beckons. The carapace of the euro, as Greeks once knew it, is no more; the security the currency offered has been lost in years of profligacy, a mountain of debt and misguided rescue efforts that have left Greece a hollow version of its former self.In a country torn by anger and despair, hope itself has become a revolutionary act. Forward or backward, an economic death spiral beckons. The carapace of the euro, as Greeks once knew it, is no more; the security the currency offered has been lost in years of profligacy, a mountain of debt and misguided rescue efforts that have left Greece a hollow version of its former self.
For those who now believe Athens should be kept in the eurozone at any cost, today’s vote is a turning point precisely because it offers the last guarantee of Greece taking the road of reform and modernisation.For those who now believe Athens should be kept in the eurozone at any cost, today’s vote is a turning point precisely because it offers the last guarantee of Greece taking the road of reform and modernisation.
“There are a lot of people out there who really do think we would be better off with the drachma, who stand to get rich, who will not give up easily,” said Athina Politis, an artist firmly in the Yes camp. “But I am very scared, very scared that the way things are, we are going to end up killing each other.”“There are a lot of people out there who really do think we would be better off with the drachma, who stand to get rich, who will not give up easily,” said Athina Politis, an artist firmly in the Yes camp. “But I am very scared, very scared that the way things are, we are going to end up killing each other.”