For much of the year, Greece has been teetering on the brink, with the government attempting to impose foreign-driven austerity on a population which will not accept it. Now, having got the EU to agree on another bailout, they've bitten the bullet and taken the democratic path, offering a referendum on austerity:
The Greek prime minister, George Papandreou, stunned Europe's leaders on Monday after he proposed that his country should hold a referendum on the landmark European debt deal reached last week.This is what the Greek government should have done in the first place: sought a democratic mandate for their actions. By refusing to do that for so long, they have undermined their own legitimacy, and Greece's democracy. A Greek Minister was almost lynched last week in Thessaloniki, the President was forced to flee an annual remembrance parade when a large angry crowd started yelling "traitor" at him, and government buildings are under occupation. This is not the sort of political climate you expect in a democracy, but then Greece's government have been going around acting like medieval tyrants, and the people are reacting accordingly. Now, the message finally seems to have gotten through that they're not going to take it any longer - fortunately before there was any serious bloodshed.A Greek vote against the deal could scupper weeks of negotiations over how to rescue the country's economy and prevent a debt crisis to match the Lehman Brothers crash of three years ago.
On current policy settings, the referendum will almost certainly fail. Which means the bankers will either need to moderate their demands, or watch their entire corrupt edifice come crumbling down around their ears.
