The Effects of No

Greeks were awful proud two weeks ago as they cast the big no vote on the EU deal offered then.  Time has passed, and based on interviews and lack of action by the EU over the weekend....you can generally say three things about the Greek mess now.

1.  They had a better deal going before the 'no' vote with the EU.  I watched five different update pieces yesterday where they chatted with Greeks on the street. They all kinda admitted that the present deal that is on the table is way beyond anything they could imagine and they wonder what the whole no vote was about.

2.  By Sunday night, you can more or less admit that Greece will not be sent out of the Euro-zone.  But the amount of pain that will have to be accepted by Greece is significant, and still....at best, there's at least another day or two of talks which might shape up, or might fall apart.  The opera feeling....with hour-by-hour updates hitting Greece.....isn't helping.

3.  If you look at public sentiment in Greece and various comments being made.....I'd take a guess that fresh new national elections are maybe just ninety days away.  There's a lost cause here hanging over the present leadership and people losing confidence in anything being worked out.  The next government?  I don't think it matters who claims the winner's circle....they have no real chance to emerge from this mess.

The German view?  If you go over the past four weeks, I'd say almost sixty hours of TV interviews and forums have been held.  You can ask any German over the age of eighteen, and I'd take a guess that seventy percent have an opinion that they'd share with you.  Of that group, I'd say that seventy-five percent of the folks with an opinion are mostly negative about the Greek mess and have no desire to fund any bail-out or loan.  If you find someone who claims to be a Green Party member.....they might be a bit more friendly toward the Greek situation.

Oddly, no one asks the big question.....what happens if no bail-out loan is rigged up?  I've sat there for hours looking over the chats and you just never see this question posed or someone asking if thousands of Greeks might pack up and try to claim refugee status in Germany.

So, a fresh Monday.....more debate.....more Greek stories.....and the tourist industry in Greece sinking fast with the summer crowd who should have come to spend tons of money but just said "no" as well.