Greek court clears way for

referendum that could shape

countrys future

People line up outside a National Bank branch to receive part of their pensions in Iraklio
on the island of Crete, Greece, on Friday. (Reuters)

By Griff Witte-July 3

ATHENS Greeces highest administrative court ruled Friday that a referendum

planned for Sunday is constitutional, clearing the last serious hurdle before Greeks go
to the polls for a vote that could set the countrys direction for decades.
From the moment Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras announced the referendum last

Friday, the vote has been marked by doubts over its purpose and validity. Opponents
had challenged its constitutionality in court. But Greeces Council of State said Friday
afternoon that the referendum is within the law.
Despite the ruling, confusion reigned across Greece on the final day of a blink-andyou-miss-it campaign that has sown bitter divisions over how to vote, and even what
question people are being asked.
Amid reports that ATMs are running so low on cash that they could run out by
Monday, both sides of the referendum debate were preparing to stage final rallies in
central Athens that are expected to draw massive crowds.
In an appeal on Greek television for a no vote, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras urged
his countrymen to reject Europes blackmail and the sirens of scaremongering.

Th
e highest administrative court ruled Friday that a referendum is
constitutional, clearing the last serious hurdle.
The referendum has been sharply criticized by European officials for the breakneck

pace at which the referendu, was organized and the lack of clarity in a ballot question
laced with technical jargon.
Valdis Dombrovskis, the commissioner for the euro, told Germanys Die Welt
newspaper that the question is neither factually nor legally correct, noting that it
asks voters to issue a verdict on a European proposal that has already been withdrawn.
Within Greece, there are sharp divisions over what the referendum represents.
To the radical leftist government and other no supporters, Sundays referendum
offers voters an up-or-down choice on Europes latest cuts-for-cash bailout plan
even though the offer expired Tuesday along with Greeces international financial
lifeline.
To the opposition and those backing yes, the choice is between sticking with Europe
or going it alone.
On Thursday, with polls showing the outcome too close to call, a potential new variable
came into play: By announcing that he would resign if voters spurn the no campaign,
Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis raised the prospect that Greece will be choosing
whether to bring down its government.
Amid the myriad unknowns about Sundays referendum, one thing was clear: Rarely, if
ever, have a nations citizens been asked to decide so much with so little clarity on the
impact of their choice and with so few days to sort it all out.

Object 1

Supporters of Greece's bailout terms have taken a thin lead over the "No"
vote backed by the leftist government, according to an opinion poll. This
comes 48 hours before a referendum that may determine the country's
future in the euro zone. (Reuters)
Democracy relies on clear questions and clear answers, said Petros Kavassalis, a
professor at the University of the Aegean who is helping to coordinate the yes
campaign. But in this referendum, everyone is creating his own question.
Kavassalis has been hustling to organize yes voters since June 26, when Tsipras
stunned his nation, and the world, by announcing that he would put Europes bailout
offer to a public vote.
The referendum is an end-game gamble by Tsiprass government, which has rejected
the tough spending cuts demanded by its European partners in exchange for reviving
the financial rescue package that has kept the country afloat.
[Greek crisis could be needed jolt to Europe]
To Kavassalis, the question facing voters is deeply unappetizing but has a clear answer.
Its bad versus worst, he said. At least with bad you can influence the outcome.
Worst is impossible to deal with.
The worst would come, Kavassalis said, on the day after a no vote, when Europe once

again rejects Greeces demands and the country begins an inexorable slide out of the
euro currency group.
European officials have threatened exactly that scenario, and if Greek voters believe
them, its almost certain they will vote yes. Although Europes insistence on austerity
as a condition for bailout funds is profoundly unpopular here, few Greeks want
to return to the drachma, the countrys former currency.
But Tsipras and his government insist that Europe is bluffing and that the opposition
is wrong when it claims that euro membership is on the line in Sundays vote. Instead,
Tsipras said in a televised interview Thursday, the referendum is all about gaining
leverage in negotiations with Europe that have been put on hold until after the vote.
The strategy is built on the idea that keeping Greece in the euro zone would be less
painful for the European Union than a potentially messy break.
The bigger the no vote, Tsipras said, the better agreement well achieve.
Tsipras vowed that a deal with creditors would be signed within 48 hours of the
referendum, regardless of the outcome, a promise that European officials have
suggested will be impossible to keep.
Tsipras, whose Syriza party was elected five months ago on a wave of anti-austerity
anger, declined to say whether he will resign if the referendum goes against him. But
earlier Thursday, Varoufakis was unequivocal, telling Bloomberg TV that he will resign
if Greece votes yes.
[Greeces financial meltdown explained]
Asked whether Europe is seeking a leadership change in Athens, the outspoken
professor-turned-minister appeared to coyly agree, citing a line from the British
version of the political drama House of Cards.

You may very well think that, Varoufakis said. I couldnt possibly comment.
In an interview with an Athens radio station Friday, Varoufakis said ATMs are stocked
with enough cash to last until Monday, but he did not make any promises beyond that.
Reports have been circulating in Athens for days that the machines are running
desperately low. The banks themselves have remained closed all week, and ATM
withdrawals are limited to 60 euros.
Regardless of the outcome Sunday, one of Greeces major creditors the International
Monetary Fund predicted Thursday that the country will need even more cash from
euro-zone countries and other sources over the next three years.
The forecast accused Tsiprass government of dragging down the Greek economy with
steps such as calling a halt to privatization plans. The IMF estimated that Greece
would need 50 billion euros in bailout funds through 2018 to fill the gaps, adding to its
already massive debt of more than 300 billion euros.
The report also said Greece will require large-scale debt relief something the Greek
government has repeatedly demanded but European officials have been unwilling to
grant.

Greece on Tuesday became the first developed nation to miss an IMF repayment
deadline, and it could miss more debt payments in the weeks ahead without a new
bailout.
But Varoufakis showed no outward concern Thursday, asserting that a new bailout
deal is a certainty.
Doesnt Europe know what is in its best interest? he said.
European deficit hawks and Greek leftists have both said for months that a deal is in

the best interest of both sides. That common belief, however, has not been enough to
draw Greece away from the abyss of an exit from the euro zone.
The referendum campaign, just days old, will culminate Friday evening with dueling
rallies in Athens. Both sides are required to halt their efforts on the day before the
vote.
The no camp has repeatedly emphasized Greeces history of resistance to outsiders.
Each October, the country commemorates Oxi Day No Day when, in 1940, the
countrys prime minister defied an ultimatum from Italian despot Benito Mussolini.
Across Athens on Thursday, the word Oxi was plastered on posters bearing the
scowling visage of German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble, the Greek
governments favorite bogeyman. In interviews, Syriza officials cast the vote as a
chance to resist foreign occupation.
Yes stands for voluntarily putting yourself into slavery, said Alexandros Bistis, a
top Tsipras adviser. No stands for dignity. It stands for remaining within a European
Union that has not forgotten its original values, which are freedom, solidarity and
peace.
The language on the ballots Sunday, however, is considerably less grand:
Should the proposal that was submitted by the European Commission, the European
Central Bank, and the International Monetary Fund at the Eurogroup of 25 June 2015,
which consists of two parts that together constitute their comprehensive proposal, be
accepted? The first document is titled Reforms for the completion of the Current
Programme and beyond and the second Preliminary Debt Sustainability Analysis.
Bistis said that despite the opaque language, the people know what this means.
But out on the streets of Athens, the confusion was evident.

Christopher Salinis, 36, was manning the counter at his coffee bar Thursday. He
opened it a year ago, full of optimism amid the first signs of recovery after years of
economic devastation for Greece. But three months ago, he halted work on renovations
and now is waiting to see which direction his country takes.
The government hasnt explained how this will all work out if we vote no, he said.
Im afraid Im going to have to close my shop. Im afraid the people wont have money
to buy coffee. Im afraid. Im afraid. Im afraid.
Ylan Q. Mui and Brian Murphy in Washington contributed to this report.

Read more
7 questions about Greece's huge crisis
Bankruptcy is a real possibility for Greece. Does its leader have a plan?
Griff Witte is The Posts London bureau chief. He previously served as the
papers deputy foreign editor and as the bureau chief in Kabul, Islamabad
and Jerusalem.

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