The people of Greece gave a resounding “no” to the conditions of a bailout package as detailed by the country’s German creditors, reported the Huffington Post. German banksters and politicians are now scrambling for a new way to bully Greece.
The vote rejecting bailout conditions was a victory for those who oppose austerity. German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande called for euro zone leaders to meet and discuss a plan to address Greece. Greece’s leftist Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said the people of Greece made the “brave choice” to reject more austerity.
“Given the unfavorable conditions last week, you have made a very brave choice,” said Tsipras during a television appearance. “But I am aware that the mandate you gave me is not a mandate for rupture.”
Much to the delight of Eurosceptic populists, the vote came as an unexpected setback that stunned governments in the European Union (EU). Leaders in the EU are now clueless about how to resolve the situation.
The Guardian gave young Greeks a chance to explain why they voted “no” against a blatant austerity measure.
“My education has suffered. I know that I can’t do anything more than just a degree in this country,” said 22-year-old Natalia Argiropoulou of Patras. “I choose to vote no not only for my country but for the whole of Europe. This situation was caused by the administration mechanisms in Europe who favour finances and not humans. Νobody can stand the policies.”
Greeks also discussed why they voted “yes” or “no” during a Q&A thread on /r/AskReddit. The consensus among those who voted “no” sound remarkably similar to concerns about income inequality here in America. Reddit user u/itiner clearly explains.
The majority of the Yes votes are people who already have a good life in Greece and they don’t care about austerity measures because they don’t affect them that much. Some of them did it because some of them won’t be able to download an application to their iphones (that was a real argument made by an opposition politician on Greek TV btw.)
The people that voted NO have had enough of this, the poor are getting poorer and the rich richer. If you would open the TV the last week you would see a DISGUSTING propaganda going on, that Greece will be like an African country in the end stuff like that. People outside of Greece just cannot understand the situation good enough, that’s why it baffles them as to why No won.
Many of the euro zone leaders are viewing Greece’s “no” vote as the country’s way of saying that they want out of the euro zone. The BBC reported that many of those who voted no still want to remain in the euro zone, but with a little more control over its economy. Some euro zone leaders see the rejection of the bailout terms as an opportunity for more negotiations.
“Now it is right to start trying for an agreement again,” said Italy foreign minister Paolo Gentiloni. “But there is no escape from the Greek labyrinth with a weak Europe that isn’t growing.”
The Greek people are facing a situation that America faced in 2008 with its bailout. There’s one big difference; the new left-wing government in Greece allowed the people to decide the country’s fate and say “No!” to austerity and financial bullying.
