Greeks Say ‘No’ To Debt Deal And ‘Yes’ To An Uncertain Future

With guest host Michel Martin.

Greeks spoke and said no to the European ultimatum.  Folly or bravery, these are uncharted waters for Europe and Greece.

Greek voters celebrated in the streets after this weekend’s big vote against Europe’s latest offer for a new bailout but now what? Greek banks are running out of money, and its citizens are too — facing the possibility of an economic meltdown. Meanwhile the rest of Europe is divided over what to do next: offer more concessions to Greece to stave off disaster, demand more austerity even though Greeks just said no, or let the beleaguered nation go its own way? Meanwhile refugees from the Middle East and elsewhere are still coming. This hour On Point: what’s next for Greece?
-- Michel Martin 

John Psaropoulos, independent journalist based in Athens. Blogs at The New Athenian. (@thenewathenian)

Christian Rickens, head of the business and economic desk at Spiegel Online. (@chrisric71)

Scheherazade Rehman, professor of international finance and business and international affairs at George Washington University, where she is also director of the European Union Research Center. (@prof_rehman)

The New Athenian: Greeks say: No more austerity — "Greeks overwhelmingly voted against further austerity on Sunday, in a referendum of crucial importance to the country's economic and political future. With three quarters of votes counted, the No vote, backed by the ruling leftists, won more than 61 percent of the vote, far above the 36 percent of the vote the ruling Syriza took in January's general election. The Yes vote, backed by the opposition, took only 38 percent."

The Wall Street Journal: Germany Stays Tough on Debt Relief for Greece — "Finding a solution to Greece’s financial troublesis urgent if Europe wants to keep its currency union intact. The eurozone portion of Greece’s €245 billion bailout has expired, and a default on a €1.56 billion payment to the IMF last week means Athens isn’t eligible for any more loans from the fund. A crucial €3.5 billion bond repayment to the European Central Bank is already due on July 20."

Spiegel Online: The Price Of Five Years of Cowardice — "For the past five years, politicians within the euro zone, under German Chancellor Angela Merkel's unofficial leadership, have shirked painful decisions that might have helped to solve the debt crisis in Greece. The consequence has been that the problems have been protracted rather than solved. This trend began with the first Greek bailout program in 2010. In order to prevent a Greek default, the euro-zone states provided their first credit guarantees to Athens at the time."