A 'Yes' rally in Syntagma Square, Athens. Demotix/Bjorn Kietzmann. All rights reserved.And so, in yet one more act of high drama, Greece is heading on Sunday towards a referendum. Only that the question asked is, to say the least, bewildering. Not only does the single ballot box contain eighty-five words, of which fifteen are in English, it also comes with two appendix technical documents and is presented in a biased no-before-yes format.
Still, at the moment things are fast getting simplified in Greek peoples’ minds: A ‘yes’ vote stands for Greece remaining at least in Europe (but not necessarily in the Eurozone) and the continuation of necessary austerity with reforms. Instead, a ‘no’ vote will be the gallant gesture of a proud people determined to maintain its ‘dignity’ and take from the ‘troika’ (the European Commission, the European Central Bank, and the International Monetary Fund) no more.
In real terms, both sides have it wrong. The ‘yes’ side should know by now that reformism is precisely what the present Greek government most abhors. The ‘no’ side should also know, and recognize, that Greece has already lost most of its dignity, together with the trust of other nations in her; nor is it clear at all how national pride is to be regained. Apart from the extraordinary electoral rash, which leaves no real room for clear thinking, there are two closely connected reasons that explain such misperceptions about Greek realities: an emphasis on economics over politics and the fact that 2015 is not 2010. Here is why.
