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| A Wary Athens Awaits the Referendum on Austerity | A Wary Athens Awaits the Referendum on Austerity |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| ATHENS — The sun shone, as usual, with clouds floating in a brilliant blue sky above the Acropolis. Hotels were mostly full, shops sold T-shirts and the cafes along the narrow alleyways in the Plaka tourist district were bustling. | ATHENS — The sun shone, as usual, with clouds floating in a brilliant blue sky above the Acropolis. Hotels were mostly full, shops sold T-shirts and the cafes along the narrow alleyways in the Plaka tourist district were bustling. |
| It was a seemingly normal Sunday — except it was anything but normal. | It was a seemingly normal Sunday — except it was anything but normal. |
| For many people in Athens, it was time to prepare for an approaching storm. A short walk from Plaka, a line of people waited to withdraw cash from an A.T.M., hours before the official announcement that banks would be closed starting on Monday. Some bank machines in central Athens had run out of money or were out of service, as screens blamed “technical difficulties.” | For many people in Athens, it was time to prepare for an approaching storm. A short walk from Plaka, a line of people waited to withdraw cash from an A.T.M., hours before the official announcement that banks would be closed starting on Monday. Some bank machines in central Athens had run out of money or were out of service, as screens blamed “technical difficulties.” |
| Elsewhere, some people had started hoarding gasoline and groceries. “We don’t know what the new day will bring,” said Katerina Vorreadi, who was among a group of retirees waiting in line outside the National Bank of Greece on Saturday night. | Elsewhere, some people had started hoarding gasoline and groceries. “We don’t know what the new day will bring,” said Katerina Vorreadi, who was among a group of retirees waiting in line outside the National Bank of Greece on Saturday night. |
| Five years of economic misery have taught many Greeks how to endure hardship, and with the nation now facing a new crisis, the weekend response in Athens was a blend of anxiety and defiance, fear and weary resignation, but also an angry pride. | Five years of economic misery have taught many Greeks how to endure hardship, and with the nation now facing a new crisis, the weekend response in Athens was a blend of anxiety and defiance, fear and weary resignation, but also an angry pride. |
| There was no panic on the streets, even as the breakdown of negotiations in Brussels between the leftist government of Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and the country’s creditors could ultimately push Greece out of the eurozone. | There was no panic on the streets, even as the breakdown of negotiations in Brussels between the leftist government of Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and the country’s creditors could ultimately push Greece out of the eurozone. |
| In Syntagma Square, which sits below the Greek Parliament and has been the setting for some of the angriest protests against economic austerity measures in recent years, the mood was tranquil. The most noticeable sign of change was an increase in police patrols, with some officers in bulletproof vests stationed near A.T.M.s. Police officials confirmed that vacations had been canceled for the coming week to prepare for the national referendum called by Mr. Tsipras. | In Syntagma Square, which sits below the Greek Parliament and has been the setting for some of the angriest protests against economic austerity measures in recent years, the mood was tranquil. The most noticeable sign of change was an increase in police patrols, with some officers in bulletproof vests stationed near A.T.M.s. Police officials confirmed that vacations had been canceled for the coming week to prepare for the national referendum called by Mr. Tsipras. |
| Mr. Tsipras’s surprise decision to hold the referendum on July 5 — endorsed by Parliament — is now the topic across the capital. Mr. Tsipras has said that voters must decide in a yes-or-no vote whether to accept an aid proposal that he considers onerous. | Mr. Tsipras’s surprise decision to hold the referendum on July 5 — endorsed by Parliament — is now the topic across the capital. Mr. Tsipras has said that voters must decide in a yes-or-no vote whether to accept an aid proposal that he considers onerous. |
| Many people watched the televised parliamentary debate, even as it stretched into Sunday morning. Mr. Tsipras finally spoke at almost 2 a.m., describing how the creditor plan would raise taxes and hurt pensioners and consign Greece to an endless cycle of austerity. “Of course I stayed up,” said Alekos Nikas, 72, a retired laborer on a government pension. “I get 560 euros a month in pension!” | |
| On Sunday, Mr. Nikas sat at a cafe with a friend, Vassilis Vangelidis, 65, and two other men. They described how they struggled to survive on modest pensions and agreed with Mr. Tsipras’s refusal to submit to pension cuts proposed by creditors. | On Sunday, Mr. Nikas sat at a cafe with a friend, Vassilis Vangelidis, 65, and two other men. They described how they struggled to survive on modest pensions and agreed with Mr. Tsipras’s refusal to submit to pension cuts proposed by creditors. |
| “He did the right thing,” Mr. Nikas said. “We’re all pensioners here. They have already slashed so much. If he fights back, we might salvage something.” | “He did the right thing,” Mr. Nikas said. “We’re all pensioners here. They have already slashed so much. If he fights back, we might salvage something.” |
| Mr. Vangelidis agreed — yet he worried about the consequences of default and leaving the euro. “We will lose everything,” he warned. “There will be no food or fuel. We will be like Venezuela.” | Mr. Vangelidis agreed — yet he worried about the consequences of default and leaving the euro. “We will lose everything,” he warned. “There will be no food or fuel. We will be like Venezuela.” |
| To some people, even those who supported the idea of the referendum, the practical impact remained unclear. Opposition parties are already arguing that a no vote would be akin to voting to leave the eurozone. Mr. Tsipras has said that the referendum is solely focused on the terms of the latest creditor proposal, but most Greeks know little about the details of that proposal or whether a no vote could threaten Greece’s place in the eurozone. | To some people, even those who supported the idea of the referendum, the practical impact remained unclear. Opposition parties are already arguing that a no vote would be akin to voting to leave the eurozone. Mr. Tsipras has said that the referendum is solely focused on the terms of the latest creditor proposal, but most Greeks know little about the details of that proposal or whether a no vote could threaten Greece’s place in the eurozone. |
| Fotis Bitsakos, 39, and his wife, Marina Lianidi, 30, were spending Sunday with their two young sons. She is unemployed and he had lost one job before finding another. Both voted for Mr. Tsipras’s left-leaning Syriza Party in the January national elections because they felt that Greece needed somehow to break the prevailing cycle of hardship. And both say that even the dire prospect of Greece’s leaving the eurozone is not so worrisome, given what they have already been through. | Fotis Bitsakos, 39, and his wife, Marina Lianidi, 30, were spending Sunday with their two young sons. She is unemployed and he had lost one job before finding another. Both voted for Mr. Tsipras’s left-leaning Syriza Party in the January national elections because they felt that Greece needed somehow to break the prevailing cycle of hardship. And both say that even the dire prospect of Greece’s leaving the eurozone is not so worrisome, given what they have already been through. |
| Even so, they admitted confusion about the referendum. “No one has explained what yes means, what no means,” Mr. Bitsakos said. | Even so, they admitted confusion about the referendum. “No one has explained what yes means, what no means,” Mr. Bitsakos said. |
| Ms. Lianidi added: “If we say no, we will at least have hit rock bottom and then we can bounce back eventually, instead of getting dragged into the situation where we pay the price — and those who should pay, do not.” | Ms. Lianidi added: “If we say no, we will at least have hit rock bottom and then we can bounce back eventually, instead of getting dragged into the situation where we pay the price — and those who should pay, do not.” |
| The class divide in Greece has sharpened substantially during the economic crisis, and in the wealthy and aristocratic neighborhood of Kolonaki, there were no lines at the A.T.M.s. | The class divide in Greece has sharpened substantially during the economic crisis, and in the wealthy and aristocratic neighborhood of Kolonaki, there were no lines at the A.T.M.s. |
| Greek news media have reported that many affluent people, who long dreaded Syriza’s rise, have moved money overseas or stuffed it into safes. Two friends, Pantelis, in a Panama hat, and Christos, in a yellow polo shirt, both engineers, were strolling in the sunshine, mulling the referendum. Neither would give a surname, and neither held out much hope that Syriza was on his side. | Greek news media have reported that many affluent people, who long dreaded Syriza’s rise, have moved money overseas or stuffed it into safes. Two friends, Pantelis, in a Panama hat, and Christos, in a yellow polo shirt, both engineers, were strolling in the sunshine, mulling the referendum. Neither would give a surname, and neither held out much hope that Syriza was on his side. |
| “We’ll have a country where only pensioners will have money, and the young will flee,” Christos concluded. | “We’ll have a country where only pensioners will have money, and the young will flee,” Christos concluded. |
| Beside the lines at A.T.M.s, people were also lining up at gas stations and in grocery stories. In the small town of Spata, outside Athens, residents had stripped grocery shelves bare by Saturday night. The local Shell station had run out of regular unleaded and had only premium gasoline to sell. “Doom,” the gas attendant responded, when asked to describe the mood. | Beside the lines at A.T.M.s, people were also lining up at gas stations and in grocery stories. In the small town of Spata, outside Athens, residents had stripped grocery shelves bare by Saturday night. The local Shell station had run out of regular unleaded and had only premium gasoline to sell. “Doom,” the gas attendant responded, when asked to describe the mood. |
| The frenzy at gas stations across the country prompted Greece’s largest refiner to issue a statement assuring that there would be enough supply, The Associated Press reported. | The frenzy at gas stations across the country prompted Greece’s largest refiner to issue a statement assuring that there would be enough supply, The Associated Press reported. |
| Perhaps it was Mr. Vangelidis, at the cafe, who captured the uncertainty of the moment most succinctly. “What will happen tomorrow, no one can know,” he said. “Even the Europeans don’t know.” | Perhaps it was Mr. Vangelidis, at the cafe, who captured the uncertainty of the moment most succinctly. “What will happen tomorrow, no one can know,” he said. “Even the Europeans don’t know.” |