NY TIMES
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 Greece’s place in Europe and shake the Continent’s financial stability.
As people gathered to celebrate in Syntagma Square in central Athens, the Interior Ministry reported that with more than 90 percent of the vote tallied, 61 percent of the voters had said no to a deal that would have imposed greater austerity measures.
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, which he called an injustice and economically self-defeating. 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.
Mr. Tsipras went on television briefly to say he would resume negotiations immediately. He said that the vote was not a mandate for “rupture” with Europe. “The people today replied to the right question,” he said. “They did not answer to the question in or out of the euro. This question needs to be taken out of the discussion, once and for all.”
Even before the voting was over, some European leaders began trying to contain the potential damage. Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany said she would meet Monday with the French president, François Hollande, for a “joint assessment of the situation.” Later, the two leaders called for a European Union summit meeting on Tuesday.
The vote took place under what some analysts called a financial carpet bombing. The European Central Bank severely limited financial assistance 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, were saturated with stories about losing gasoline and medicines, while the plight of retirees 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 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 celebratory atmosphere.