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Thursday, March 28, 2024

Defiant Tsipras Addresses Nation, Urges “No” Referendum Vote

Courtesy of ZeroHedge. View original post here.

Submitted by Tyler Durden.

After a letter surfaced which shows Athens is ready to accept the latest proposal presented by the troika (i.e. the now expired offer from Brussels) in exchange for a third rescue package worth nearly €30 billion, Greek PM Alexis Tsipras was set to address the nation. As a reminder, a little before 5am CET, news hit that Tsipras was willing to concede to virtually all creditor demands, with a few exceptions.

There was some expectation that he would fold completely and call off the referendum. Precisely the opposite happened.

From Bloomberg:

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras called for voters to reject austerity measures in Sunday’s referendum to help end a standoff with creditors as the country gets a taste of financial meltdown.

It took a third day of capital controls, rationing pensions and the expiry of Greece’s bailout for the government in Athens to say it’s willing to accept his adversaries’ latest offer as a basis for compromise. The looming vote remains a stumbling block, along with disagreements over pensions, spending and taxes.

Come Monday, the Greek government will be at the negotiating table after the referendum, with better terms for the Greek people,” Tsipras said in a Twitter message posted as he spoke on national television. “A popular verdict is much stronger than the will of a government.”

The Greek premier spoke following a rhetorical exchange with his chief antagonists over a bid to revive negotiations. While Tsipras signaled he’s prepared to compromise on the starting point for talks, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Europe’s dominant leader, refused to engage

Merkel and her finance minister, Wolfgang Schaeuble, burned by five months of brinkmanship, said there would be no talks on a new bailout until after the July 5 vote.

* * * 

“There can be no negotiations for a new credit program before the referendum,” the chancellor told lawmakers in a speech opening a parliamentary debate on Greece. The country has provided “no basis for talking about any serious measures” to break the deadlock, Schaeuble told reporters.

“The clock cannot be simply set back to where it was Friday night before Tsipras broke off the talks and called the referendum,” Holger Schmieding, an analyst at Berenberg Bank, wrote to clients. “A deal is still possible, but it would require more than just this letter.”

So did the bluffing Greek government take game theory too far? Or is this all part of the plan? At this point it is safe to say, nobody really knows what is going on.

* * *

Earlier:

Although the latest opinion polls show a narrow majority of Greeks would vote “no” in the referendum scheduled for this weekend, the bite of capital controls and threat of an imminent banking sector collapse have heaped pressure on the government which, as of midnight, became the first developed country to default to the IMF. 

  • TSIPRAS SAYS REFERENDUM NOT ABOUT EURO OR NOT EURO
  • TSIPRAS CALLS FOR `NO’ VOTE IN JULY 5 REFERENDUM
  • GREECE RECEIVED BETTER PROPOSALS FOR DEBT AFTER REFERENDUM CALL
  • IF POSITIVE DEVELOPMENT IN EUROGROUP WE WILL RESPOND: TSIPRAS
  • TSIPRAS SAYS EUROPE SHOULD GIVE TIME AND SPACE TO GREEKS
  • TSIPRAS SAYS CREDITORS SHIFTED BLACKMAIL FROM GOVT TO CITIZENS
  • WE WILL RESUME TALKS ON MONDAY
  • IF EUROGROUP APPROVES DEAL WE’LL RESPOND ACCORDINGLY
  • REFERENDUM IS FOR THE A APPROVAL OR NOT OF DEAL
  • GOVERNMENT STILL WANTS DEAL WITH CREDITORS
  • REFERENDUM NOT FOR STAY OR NOT IN EURO
  • TSIPRAS SAYS GOVT FIGHTING TO PROTECT PEOPLE’S PENSIONS
  • TSIPRAS SAYS NO VOTE IS DECISIVE STEP TOWARD BETTER DEAL
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