This article is from the source 'nytimes' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/06/world/europe/confusion-remains-as-voting-begins-in-greek-referendum.html

The article has changed 16 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 8 Version 9
Early Returns Show Greeks Reject Terms of E.U. Bailout Greeks Reject Bailout Terms in Rebuff to European Leaders
(35 minutes later)
ATHENS — Greek voters appeared to decisively reject a bailout deal offered by the country’s creditors two weeks ago, an outcome that could redefine the country’s place in Europe and shake the Continent’s financial stability. ATHENS — Greeks delivered a shocking rebuff to Europe’s leaders on Sunday, decisively rejecting a deal offered by the country’s creditors in a historic vote that could redefine the country’s place in Europe and shake the Continent’s financial stability.
As celebrants began to gather in Athens’s central Syntagma Square, the Interior Ministry projected that more than 60 percent of the voters had said no to a deal that would have imposed greater austerity measures on the beleaguered country.As celebrants began to gather in Athens’s central Syntagma Square, the Interior Ministry projected that more than 60 percent of the voters had said no to a deal that would have imposed greater austerity measures on the beleaguered country.
With 40 percent of the vote in, the actual count tracked the projections, with 61 percent voting no and 39 percent yes, the Interior Ministry said. With 60 percent of the vote tallied, the actual count tracked the projections, with 61 percent voting no and 39 percent yes, the Interior Ministry said.
The no vote would be a triumph for Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, who had campaigned for that as a way to give him more bargaining power in negotiating a new deal. But it also raised the possibility that the creditors would walk away, leaving Greece facing default, financial collapse and expulsion from the eurozone — and even, in the worst case, from the European Union. The no votes carried virtually every district in the country, handing a sweeping victory to Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, a leftist who came to power in January vowing to reject new austerity measures that he called an injustice and economically self-defeating. Late last month he walked away from negotiations in frustration at the creditors’ demands, called the referendum and urged Greeks to vote no as a way to give him more bargaining power.
Even before the polls closed, the office of Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany released a statement saying she would meet with the French president, François Hollande, in Paris on Monday for a “joint assessment of the situation after the Greek referendum.” While Mr. Tsipras now appears to have his wish, his victory in the referendum settled little, since the creditors’ offer is no longer on the table. There remains the possibility that they could walk away, leaving Greece facing default, financial collapse and expulsion from the eurozone and, in the worst case, from the European Union.
The poll comes after a week in which voters were barraged with ads that warned that if they did not vote yes, they would soon be without medicine and gasoline. At stake, however, may be far more than Greece’s place in Europe, as experts have offered wildly differing opinions about what the referendum could mean for the future of the euro and, indeed, the world’s financial markets.
With Greek banks closed, the nightly news was filled with images of retirees lining up to get only a fraction of their monthly pensions. Even before the voting was over, European leaders began making efforts to contain the potential damage. The office of Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany released a statement on Sunday saying she would meet with the French president, François Hollande, in Paris on Monday for a “joint assessment of the situation after the Greek referendum.”
Yet it was hard for many Greeks to know exactly what they were voting on. The ballot asks them only to say yes or no to the terms of a deal with Greece’s creditors, which is no longer even on the table. Prime Minister Matteo Renzi of Italy urged everyone to get back to the negotiating table as quickly as possible on Monday, no matter what the vote.
Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has told them that rejecting the deal will give him more power to negotiate and urged them to do so. But European and opposition leaders have tried to frame the vote as a yes or no to staying in the eurozone and avoiding economic collapse. The vote took place under what some analysts called a financial carpet bombing. The European Central Bank cut off a financial lifeline to Greek banks, forcing them to close a week before the referendum, making it hard for retirees to get their money and raising widespread fear here that people would lose their deposits.
The news media, dominated by Greek oligarchs, saturated the airwaves and the newspapers with stories about losing gasoline and medicines, while the plight of the elderly was afforded far more attention than in the past, media experts said.
Nonetheless, many voters, tired of more than five years of soaring unemployment and a collapsing economy, said they could not accept the terms of the European offer, which imposed yet more pension cuts and tax increases, without any hint of debt relief.
As word spread of a likely victory for the no vote, people began gathering in Syntagma Square. They streamed out of the metro — which is free in this week of capital controls — and drove by, honking horns. Vendors sold Greek flags, and there was a peaceful, celebratory atmosphere.
People made speeches. Some remembered that at the beginning of the crisis in 2011 Syntagma became a gathering place for protesters. But in those days it was a scary place, they said, in contrast to Sunday night.
Mr. Tsipras voted late Sunday morning in his working-class neighborhood in Athens. Afterward, he said the vote was a “celebration of democracy.”Mr. Tsipras voted late Sunday morning in his working-class neighborhood in Athens. Afterward, he said the vote was a “celebration of democracy.”
“Not only will we remain in Europe,” he said, “but we will live with dignity to prosper, to work as equals among equals.”“Not only will we remain in Europe,” he said, “but we will live with dignity to prosper, to work as equals among equals.”
On a sunny day, voters trickled into polling stations across Greece, often passing tourists in shorts and floppy hats.
They voted in small booths covered with dark blue cloths and marked paper ballots with a cross. Stacks of blank white ballots were available for those who wished to abstain.
For some voters, the week of hardship — they could withdraw only 60 euros, or about $67, a day from A.T.M.s, and already some pharmacists were refusing to fill prescriptions — had only strengthened their sense that Greece needed to stand up for itself.For some voters, the week of hardship — they could withdraw only 60 euros, or about $67, a day from A.T.M.s, and already some pharmacists were refusing to fill prescriptions — had only strengthened their sense that Greece needed to stand up for itself.
After five years in which unemployment soared beyond 20 percent and the country’s economy contracted by 25 percent, many said that a no vote was at least a vote for hope, the possibility of a new deal, rather than following the mandates of creditors who had failed to set Greece on a course to recovery.After five years in which unemployment soared beyond 20 percent and the country’s economy contracted by 25 percent, many said that a no vote was at least a vote for hope, the possibility of a new deal, rather than following the mandates of creditors who had failed to set Greece on a course to recovery.
For others, the hardship only proved that Greece, like it or not, was in the hands of its creditors and could do little but take whatever terms were being offered — the alternative of default, financial collapse and withdrawal from the euro being unthinkable. In many cases, they blamed Mr. Tsipras’s young government for having returned the country to recession when it had shown small signs of recovery just before the January elections.For others, the hardship only proved that Greece, like it or not, was in the hands of its creditors and could do little but take whatever terms were being offered — the alternative of default, financial collapse and withdrawal from the euro being unthinkable. In many cases, they blamed Mr. Tsipras’s young government for having returned the country to recession when it had shown small signs of recovery just before the January elections.
At a polling place near the archaeological museum in Athens turnout was low, poll workers said. And people coming out of the voting booths seemed split.At a polling place near the archaeological museum in Athens turnout was low, poll workers said. And people coming out of the voting booths seemed split.
“I voted with my heart and also my mind,” said Marie Triadafillou, who works in transportation logistics and voted yes. “I believe when you are in a union you cannot leave. We say in our country if the sheep leaves the flock it cannot live.”“I voted with my heart and also my mind,” said Marie Triadafillou, who works in transportation logistics and voted yes. “I believe when you are in a union you cannot leave. We say in our country if the sheep leaves the flock it cannot live.”
Yet others felt that the referendum was not about staying in the eurozone but simply part of the long negotiations between Greece and its creditors, which broke off more than a week ago when a frustrated Mr. Tsipras left Brussels and called for the referendum.Yet others felt that the referendum was not about staying in the eurozone but simply part of the long negotiations between Greece and its creditors, which broke off more than a week ago when a frustrated Mr. Tsipras left Brussels and called for the referendum.
Since then, European officials have refused to negotiate further and to extend a deadline for the last bailout program, triggering a decision by the European Central Bank to cap its emergency support to Greek banks. This forced the government to close the banks for fear of extended bank runs.Since then, European officials have refused to negotiate further and to extend a deadline for the last bailout program, triggering a decision by the European Central Bank to cap its emergency support to Greek banks. This forced the government to close the banks for fear of extended bank runs.
In Greece, the campaigning for the referendum was supposed to stop on Friday, by law. But European leaders seemed to continue their efforts over the weekend.
Martin Schulz, the head of the European Parliament, who had offered at one point to come to Greece to campaign for a yes vote, said on Sunday that Greece would need to prepare to operate without the euro and with a parallel currency if there was a no vote on Sunday.
While Greece would remain in the euro, it “will have to introduce another currency after the referendum because the euro is not available as a means of payment,” he said in an interview broadcast Sunday on Germany’s Deutschlandfunk radio. He added that he hoped the risk of such a change would induce Greeks to vote yes.
But some European officials seemed eager to calm the waters. The French economy minister, Emmanuel Macron, on Sunday called on Greece’s creditors to resume discussions with Athens immediately after the referendum, no matter the outcome, and warned against punishing Greece in the event of a no vote.
“Even if the no vote prevails, it’s our responsibility not to re-enact a Treaty of Versailles in the eurozone,” he said at an economics conference in Aix-en-Provence, France, referring to the peace treaty at the end of World War I that forced harsh reparation terms on a defeated Germany.
He called on the Greek people to take responsibility and realize that “this is not just a vote about Greece, but about the whole eurozone. We need to maintain solidarity.”
At a polling station in a middle-class Athens neighborhood, Baizar Tazerian, 76, said she was angered by what she believed had been European interference in the ballot and had just voted to reject the deal in the referendum.At a polling station in a middle-class Athens neighborhood, Baizar Tazerian, 76, said she was angered by what she believed had been European interference in the ballot and had just voted to reject the deal in the referendum.
“No, means that we don’t have to say yes to whatever they are saying,” Ms. Tazerian said.“No, means that we don’t have to say yes to whatever they are saying,” Ms. Tazerian said.
At a polling station in a southern neighborhood of Athens, Pantiotis Andrikopoulos, 33, a student, said he planned to vote no “because I don’t like being blackmailed by the E.U.” He did not buy European arguments that a no vote meant Greeks wanted to leave the eurozone. “I’m for Europe but against the memorandum,” he said, as he stood in a long line of people waiting to vote.At a polling station in a southern neighborhood of Athens, Pantiotis Andrikopoulos, 33, a student, said he planned to vote no “because I don’t like being blackmailed by the E.U.” He did not buy European arguments that a no vote meant Greeks wanted to leave the eurozone. “I’m for Europe but against the memorandum,” he said, as he stood in a long line of people waiting to vote.
He also wasn’t worried that Greek banks would remain closed in the event of a no vote. “I don’t believe that,” he said. “They’re trying to terrorize people with such talk.”He also wasn’t worried that Greek banks would remain closed in the event of a no vote. “I don’t believe that,” he said. “They’re trying to terrorize people with such talk.”
In Ilisia, a middle-class neighborhood, the poet Titos Patrikios, 87, voted at a school that was surrounded by pink and white oleander.In Ilisia, a middle-class neighborhood, the poet Titos Patrikios, 87, voted at a school that was surrounded by pink and white oleander.
Mr. Patrikios seemed to embody much of his country’s modern history. As a teenager during World War II, he took part in the resistance against the German occupation. After the civil war, he was imprisoned for his leftist sympathies. And after the military seized power in 1967, he was forced into exile.Mr. Patrikios seemed to embody much of his country’s modern history. As a teenager during World War II, he took part in the resistance against the German occupation. After the civil war, he was imprisoned for his leftist sympathies. And after the military seized power in 1967, he was forced into exile.
Mr. Patrikios said he was voting yes, but urged everyone to vote their own consciences. “I vote yes because the real dilemma is inside or outside of Europe,” Mr. Patrikios said. “In Europe, things are difficult sometimes, they are critical. But outside Europe is the catastrophe. So we have to choose between catastrophe and difficult.”Mr. Patrikios said he was voting yes, but urged everyone to vote their own consciences. “I vote yes because the real dilemma is inside or outside of Europe,” Mr. Patrikios said. “In Europe, things are difficult sometimes, they are critical. But outside Europe is the catastrophe. So we have to choose between catastrophe and difficult.”
He added that the most important thing was to avoid pitting Greeks against Greeks, but that he was not too worried: “I suffer from one illness and that is incurable optimism.”He added that the most important thing was to avoid pitting Greeks against Greeks, but that he was not too worried: “I suffer from one illness and that is incurable optimism.”
Near the archaeological museum, in the Victoria district, Vasiliki Tsoga, 35, a postdoctoral researcher at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, came to vote with an aunt, Efrosini Tsoga, 86.
The elder Ms. Tsoga said that she was not optimistic regardless of which way the referendum went, because Greece had already reached a desperate point. “Whether yes or no, there’s no exit. We’re at a dead end,” she said. “Without money, how can a community live?”
She said she had been living on loans from her daughter-in-law, and, “I was overcome by anxiety.”
Ippolitos Papantoniou, 55, a businessman, said Greece was being made an example in case other Southern European nations tried to challenge the dictates of the eurozone.Ippolitos Papantoniou, 55, a businessman, said Greece was being made an example in case other Southern European nations tried to challenge the dictates of the eurozone.
“We are a tiny part of the European Union’s G.D.P.,” Mr. Papantoniou said. “They don’t want to allow a government of the left.“We are a tiny part of the European Union’s G.D.P.,” Mr. Papantoniou said. “They don’t want to allow a government of the left.
Athanasis Chryssochoidis, 76, a pensioner and a friend of Mr. Papantoniou’s, agreed. “Tsipras and all of them want to negotiate,” Mr. Chryssochoidis said. “But as soon as they said yes to something, the Europeans put up more demands. The issue is that Syriza is a left party and they don’t want such mischief.”Athanasis Chryssochoidis, 76, a pensioner and a friend of Mr. Papantoniou’s, agreed. “Tsipras and all of them want to negotiate,” Mr. Chryssochoidis said. “But as soon as they said yes to something, the Europeans put up more demands. The issue is that Syriza is a left party and they don’t want such mischief.”
“We’ve reached our limit,” Mr. Chryssochoidis said. “This is not a society of beggars.”“We’ve reached our limit,” Mr. Chryssochoidis said. “This is not a society of beggars.”
Many said they wished there had been no referendum and some said they would not bother to vote. Over and over, voters on both sides of the issue said they were trying to make what they thought was the best decision for their children.
“It is possible that things will be worse for me,” said one man, who had voted no and was picking up bread at a bakery with his young son. “But in the long run it might be better for him.”