Dangerous move
Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras’s threat to call a referendum if the country’s creditors insist on demands deemed unacceptable by his leftist government have added to uncertainty about what will happen in Greece in the coming weeks.
Uncertainty is killing the real economy and is starting to undermine the country’s sole growth engine, the tourism industry.
If Tsipras succeeds in reaching a deal with the nation’s lenders, he can most certainly count on the backing of most of the opposition parties.
If the deal offered to him fails to win support in his own party, he will need to find allies elsewhere.
A referendum could put to question fundamental choices made by Greece since the time of Constantine Karamanlis.
There’s no need to point out how dangerous that would be. Inner-party dissent is no excuse for such a dangerous move.