Paris---The Greek prime minister may have called the referendum on bailout conditions, but Europe could potentially have the most to gain if the vote on Sunday saves Greece from exiting the euro.
"We are entering an extremely complicated week, for Greece and for its partners," said Philippe Waechter, an economist at French investment bank Natixis.
"The future of the country is linked to the Sunday referendum. But the outcome is uncertain."
Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras delivered a bombshell over the weekend by announcing a referendum on the bailout proposal which his government, elected in January on an anti-austerity platform, has resisted as it would require additional tax hikes and spending cuts.
Greece's eurozone partners halted negotiations and the ECB refused to increase its emergency support that has been propping up Greek banks, forcing Greece to shut banks for a week and introduce capital controls.
While Tsipras has urged Greeks to vote 'No' in the referendum, European leaders are calling on Greeks to vote 'Yes'.
"I will ask the Greek people to vote 'Yes'," said European Commission head Jean-Claude Juncker.
"A 'No' would mean, regardless of the question posed, that Greece had said 'No' to Europe," he added.
French President Francois Hollande said: "What is at stake ... is knowing whether the Greeks want to stay in the euro" ... or they take the risk of leaving."
Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi tweeted: "The point is: Greek referendum won't be a derby EU Commission vs Tsipras, but euro vs drachma. This is the choice."
- A new majority? -
According to a poll conducted by Kapa research for the Greek weekly Vima before the referendum was called, 47.2 percent of Greeks were for the bailout and 33 percent against with 19.8 percent not expressing an opinion.
A second poll, conducted by the Alco firm found an even higher majority in favour of a deal with Europe: 57 against 29 percent.
AFP
