The Voices of the Grexit crisis
The chaos is starting to reign in Greece. Or at least is what many people can see from far outside. Discussions are not getting the expected results and the Greeks are starting to drain the banks via ATM. Greece’s Prime Minister, Alexis Tsipras, is not showing good faith about the conversations that took place in Brussels. Looks like the choice is now on the hands of the Greek people.
As the referendum event get serious, the Euro collapses at the world markets and put everyone in the expectative of what is going to be the fate of the mythic country. The relations between Greece and its creditors is about to breakdown and experts thinks that there is nothing left to do in the negotiation matter. Prime Minister Tsipras put a festive pause on banking activities and many went to the streets to take back their savings from financial institutions.
The referendum announcement was counterproductive and made that thousands of Greeks lose their inner peace among the several threats to their economy and take, peacefully by now, the streets, mainly at Athens. This proposed referendum will ask the Greek citizens about the proposal made by the country creditors, which imply harsh cuts that will disturb truly hard all the classes of the social spectrum.
The government is already recommending the “No” at the referendum. This was seen as a pessimistic attitude from the State by the officials in the European Union. By the other hand, the Eurozone authorities had foreseen a negative response from Tsipras in the matter of the rescue deal and all the reforms and measures that are part of it. This would mean an end of the actual bailout and the collapse of the bank system in the country, being the Government incapable of supporting it. Also, the sudden exit of the block would significate an emergency state were the restored Drachma would be a lot less valuable than the Euro.
But the truth is that the EU doesn’t want the Grexit. The exit would mean the collapse of the currency, a greater one than the occurring right now. The global markets are expecting the worst about the negotiations and are trying to be prepared for the next days and the fatal consequences.
There is a lot of public Greek voices declaring about the subject. The former Prime Minister, Costas Karamanlis criticized Tsipras’ decisions. He declared that the stay with the EU is fundamental for the country’s prosperity and development despite of the actual situation. Considers that the exit of the block would carry an extensive list of serious consequences.
The Syriza (Coalition of Radical Left Party) minister on the energy sector and agriculture, Panagiotis Lafazaris, told to the media that the country must reject the creditors’ proposal and the great need for the “No” at the voting event. He said that it will be a “yes” to a new era for Greece, a one for reconstruction and progress. Health minister Kouroumblis considers that Greece do not want a separations from the EU. Said that the referendum is just a natural part of the actual negotiations.
The EU leaders also shared their thoughts on the matter. Angela Merkel, the actual German Chancellor, openly expects a solution for the Greece situation, mainly focused on the bailout plan. Also she declared that the technical negotiations are elemental and a priority to proceed with the discussions at Brussels. The EU leaders were agree on the technical issue and leave the space available for the financial experts.
Francois Hollande, President of France, confirm the presence of important differences between the Greece party and the EU creditors but he downplayed the issue subtly. He stated that the leaders are looking for a long-lasting agreement. They told to the Greek Prime Minister that they are waiting for the interventions of the main financial institutions related to the situation: the European Commission (EC), the European Central Bank (ECB) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Clearly this will be a session of awkward and rough proposition of conditions for Greece and all its people and will be violently discussed by Tsipras and his entire party. Thanks to the referendum already announced, the Greeks are going to have the chance of be part of the discussion and say “Yes” or “No” to the very possible harsh measures suggested by the EU leaders and their ruthless financial institutions.
Grigoris Kanellopoulos, a 41 years-old seller of bagels, made an interesting observation about the case. “The people are not in position to decide. Those who are in position to decide are the ones that know a bit more and they must explain and simplify the issues for the people.” This humble statement is incredibly true. The people do not handle the technical part of the situation and neither the deadly consequences for the Greek economy. It is a big responsibility for the politicians to make every aspect of the issue easy to understand for regular people. If these people do not absorb the information properly, they will be no able to make an appropriate decision.