A Greek voter asked a foreign journalist on the eve of Sunday's referendum “If you had been in agonizing pain for the last five years, wouldn't you vote to stop it?” Unfortunately the overwhelming “No” result actually means that Greece has set itself up for a great deal more pain for very possibly a great deal longer. With almost all the ballots counted, results from the Greek referendum show voters decisively rejecting the terms of an international bailout. Figures published by the Interior Ministry showed nearly 62% of those whose ballots had been counted voting "No", against 38% voting "Yes". Greece's governing Syriza party had campaigned for a "No", saying the bailout terms were humiliating. In the wake of this victory, it is being asserted that the Greek people have exercised their democratic right to protest and reject the tough economic conditions to which they have been subjected by the rest of the euro zone, and by Germany in particular. And so they have. But what Greeks are choosing conveniently to overlook is that there are other voters in the euro zone who also have democratic rights. These other voters have already seen their governments buy up Greek state debt from banks, largely in Europe. They have also watched as the European Central Bank poured European taxpayers' money into the Greek financial system to keep Greek banks afloat. The citizens in these countries also have votes and it appears increasingly clear that most would choose to say “No” to further financial support for Athens. They are fed up with helping a Greece that seems intent on refusing to help itself. The strength with which this view is held has been bolstered by the general Greek reluctance to recognize their own responsibility, even culpability for their country's woes. Put bluntly, for years Greeks have been living way beyond their means. But as the crisis has unfolded a nationwide myopia seemed to set in. Hardly anyone from politician to bureaucrats to the man or woman on the street has apologized for the profligate policies that have run their country into the ground. Instead there is a profound and perverse anger that fellow citizens in the euro zone, who do as it happens, unlike the Greeks, pay their taxes, should be demanding their loans be repaid and insisting on massive reforms to the dubious way in which Greece runs its financial affairs. Sure Greeks are suffering. Largely generous wages and pensions have been falling. The economy, which has been staggering, is now set to go into free fall as liquidity in the financial sector dries up. The banks are closed and capital controls are in force. But this is pain very much of their own making. The moral hazard in their tragedy is perfectly clear. They chose to ignore financial good housekeeping and have suffered the consequences. Their response has not been edifying. It has been epitomized by the rudeness and arrogance of former finance minister Yanis Varoufakis at meetings with creditors. Varoufakis resigned Monday morning saying he believed new negotiations for a bailout package would go better without him. It was typical of this Narcissistic politician that he should imagine his presence or absence would make the slightest difference to negotiations based on hardheaded realities. Varoufakis' delusions unfortunately are clearly shared by the majority of Greek voters.
