With less than 72 hours left to Sunday’s bailout referendum in Greece, a poll suggests that the majority of Greeks would support the creditors’ proposals for comprehensive structural reforms in return for fresh bailout money. A GPO poll of 1,000 people conducted on Tuesday and cited by euro2day.gr showed support for the bailout at 47.1% and opposition at 43.2%. The rest of those polled were either undecided or planned not to vote. With the margin of error in the GPO poll set at +/- 3.1 percentage points, the result of the vote appears too close to call. A Prorata survey of 1,200 people held June 28-30 gave an opposing answer – with rejection of the creditors’ proposal at 57% (before Greek banks were closed on 29 June) and 46% (after banks were closed and restrictions started to bite). The results of the two polls suggest that the number of those who would vote ‘Yes’ is increasing as queues in front of ATMs in Greece to withdraw up to EUR 60 a day have become commonplace since capital controls were introduced as of 29 June to avert a bank run. Meanwhile, Greece’s Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis said in an interview for Bloomberg Television on Thursday he would “rather cut off” his arm than sign a deal that fails to restructure Greece’s debt. He alluded that he would resign if the majority of Greeks decided to support the creditors’ proposals. “Maybe we’ll change the configuration of the government because some of us will not be able to stomach it,” Varoufakis told Bloomberg. Sky News quoted a senior Greek government source as saying that success for the ‘Yes’ camp would likely prompt the resignation of Tsipras, the formation of a ‘national unity’ government and early elections in September. Varoufakis, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and their left-wing Syriza party are urging Greeks to vote ‘No’, arguing that Greece can remain in the euro on better terms if they do so. Greece’s creditors, however, think otherwise. Eurogroup chief Jeroen Dijsselbloem warned Thursday that the financial situation in Greece is deteriorating, saying a 'No' vote on Sunday would question whether the country still had a place within the eurozone. "The situation is only getting worse, due to Greek government's behaviour," Dijsselbloem, who is also Dutch finance minister, told a question-and-answer session in the parliament in The Hague, according to AFP.
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