Greece's 'rogue' E.U. bailout vote: Democracy or 'tragedy'?

Prime Minister George Papandreou stuns the world with a plan to put the E.U.'s unpopular Greece-saving bailout to a vote — where it's likely to be defeated

Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou roiled world markets with a plan to put the fate of a last-minute E.U. bailout package in the hands of Greek voters who overwhelmingly oppose the bailou
(Image credit: Neil Marchand/Liewig Media Sports/Corbis)

"Greece is not only the cradle of democracy, but of drama," too, says The Economist. Both were certainly in plentiful supply on Tuesday, after Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou shocked Europe, and global markets, by announcing that he will put the fate of last week's massive European bailout package into the hands of Greek voters, through a popular referendum early next year. (Polls show that Greeks overwhelmingly oppose the bailout.) Papandreou's move was so "rogue" that it took his party, and even his finance minister, by surprise. The prime minister argues that Greeks should get to decide between the austerity measures required by the bailout package or a likely default and ejection from the euro currency. Can any good come of this?

At least citizens are being given a choice: Despite all the panic, "this is the best news that the European Union has seen in two years," says Henry Farrell at Crooked Timber. European technocrats have long tried to "integrate by stealth rather than public debate," and Papandreou's referendum marks "the first time that we've actually seen citizens actually being asked about what they actually want" when it comes to Europe's future. It's about time.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us