Latest poll shows narrow lead for No vote ahead of court rulingTsipras: IMF analysis ‘great vindication’ for Greek governmentVaroufakis says deal in the offing – later denied by DijsselbloemEC says referendum question not legally correctTimings for Sunday’s pollGreece awaits court ruling on Sunday’s pollGreek banks have enough cash until MondayShare your views with GuardianWitness 3.50pm BST Both sides are equally to blame in letting the Greek debt crisis get to a point now fraught with immense political and economic risks for the entire eurozone, says Vicky Pryce, chief economic adviser at the Centre for Economic and Business Research. She is also the author of Greekonomics: The Euro Crisis and Why Politicians Don’t Get It. Asked by the Guardian how she would vote on Sunday, Pryce said: “The referendum should never have been held. But I would vote yes.”In truth the creditors’ offer to the Greeks differs little in terms of overall austerity to that asked for by the Greeks except on where some of the pain may fall and that hasn’t been explained to the Greeks. There has been too much austerity but a no vote would make things worse. It would almost certainly mean banks becoming insolvent, an exit from the euro and a much faster decline in economic activity with hyperinflation following as the drachma that is introduced instantly devalues.”A yes vote would keep banks open and give mandate for a deal to be struck that recognises the new Greek realities and includes, as the IMF now says, restructuring of the debt which every economist knows is unsustainable. This would offer some light at the end of the tunnel. A no vote would make that almost impossible to accomplish and could plunge Greece into years of economic turmoil.” 3.47pm BST Here in the UK, Caroline Lucas, Green party MP for Brighton, has written in the Independent:The Troika’s intransigence on austerity amounts to nothing short of an attempted coup. A democratically elected Government is being backed in a corner by the servants of capital who are desperate to embarrass the Greek electorate for daring to question austerity. For those of us who believe in the EU as a body which should uphold human rights and value solidarity, this bullying is particularly repulsive. Continue reading...
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