# taz.de -- After the Greek referendum: History in the Making
       
       > The outcome of the referendum is clear. Now more than ever it’s up to the
       > ECB, alongside the Greek government, to come up with solutions.
       
   IMG Bild: Merkel says no – at least in this street painting in Frankfurt/Main.
       
       This „no“ from the Greeks is sensational. It will write history, although
       what will come next remains unclear. What is already clear is that this
       „no“ will be received as a provocation by european leaders. It can now only
       be hoped that they won’t react hastily and mount a Grexit.
       
       The message from Greek premier Alexis Tsipras was unambiguous – he did not
       push for a 'no’ because he wanted to leave the eurozone, but rather because
       he hoped that he might thereby force the troika into concession-making.
       After all, up until now the „Institutions“ haven’t budged. They submitted
       to Tsipras the same austerity targets that they submitted to his
       predecessor, Samaras.
       
       It’s been obvious for some time that the troika’s rigid austerity measures
       aren’t working, but are instead dragging the country deeper into the
       crisis. There clearly is plenty of room for the eurozone to make
       concessions without immediately abandoning the course of the reforms,
       though.
       
       The eurozone would therefore be well advised to finally show the Greeks
       some good will. It wouldn't even be difficult to save face while doing so.
       The present austerity targets, amounting to some eight billion euros over
       the next two years, could be formally insisted upon, but counterbalanced
       with a guarantee of investments of the same sum.
       
       There would be enough worthwhile projects; it is for instance inexplicable
       that Greece still imports oil and doesn’t draw on sunlight and wind – both
       of which are in bountiful supply – for energy. However, the risk is
       enormous that dogmatism will win over rational thinking, and that the
       European leaders will have no interest in affording Tsipras some kind of
       triumph – preferring instead to orchestrate a Grexit.
       
       From a technical standpoint this would be easy; the European Central Bank
       need only further freeze its emergency credit to the Greek banks, or even
       demand immediate repayment. Without enough euros to conduct normal
       financial transactions, Greece would have to switch promptly to a parallel
       currency.
       
       Over time, European leaders consistently insisted that a Grexit would pose
       no danger. That was a bald lie. The risks are impossible to predict, and it
       would be highly probable that, when the next crisis comes, the next Euro
       country would be on the block – simply because the financial markets would
       bet on it. That is how world history looks.
       
       Translation: Hans Kellett
       
       6 Jul 2015
       
       ## AUTOREN
       
   DIR Ulrike Herrmann
       
       ## TAGS
       
   DIR taz-Texte zur Euro-Krise auf Englisch
   DIR taz international
   DIR taz-Texte zur Euro-Krise auf Englisch
   DIR taz-Texte zur Euro-Krise auf Englisch
   DIR taz-Texte zur Euro-Krise auf Englisch
   DIR taz-Texte zur Euro-Krise auf Englisch
   DIR taz-Texte zur Euro-Krise auf Englisch
       
       ## ARTIKEL ZUM THEMA
       
   DIR After the Euro Summit in Brussels: Thus fails Europe
       
       Thanks to a loathsome alliance, Merkel and Schäuble have been able to
       impose all of Germany’s demands on Greece. The result is a regime of
       sanctions and coercion.
       
   DIR Economist about the ECB and Greece: Like setting off a nuclear bomb
       
       The ECB denying Greece emergency loans would be blackmail, writes the
       economist Martin Hellwig. A crisis like 1931 could be created.
       
   DIR Grexit and the Eurozone: Destroyed confidence
       
       The monetary system is based on confidence, and that confidence has been
       shattered. The end of the monetary union is dawning – even if Greece
       remains in the euro.
       
   DIR Angela Merkel and the Greek crisis: Is the Chancellor invulnerable?
       
       Angela Merkel is prepared to push through a third aid package for Athens.
       The opposition accuses her of wanting to help the Greek banks, not its
       citizens.
       
   DIR Crisis in Greece: Europe’s helpless leftists
       
       Syriza’s politics was a proposal for the system to show good will. This was
       both naïve and impassioned.