LONDON (AP) – On his 10-year trip home, the Greek hero Odysseus at one point had to steer his ship and crew between Scylla, a six-headed monster, on one side of a narrow stretch of water and the whirlpool Charybdis on the other.
The Greek people are in similar dire straits as they prepare to vote on a future in which they face two painful prospects: the slow grind of years more of austerity cuts or the country’s potentially catastrophic exit from the euro.
The question is whether their vote on Sunday can help them escape either. “Yes” to the proposal for more budget cuts in exchange for a financial aid package for the country? Or reject it in the hope it will not lead the country out of the euro?
The referendum question makes no reference to Greece’s future in the currency union. It is on a set of proposals that European creditors say they have withdrawn following the failure to forge a deal with Greece before an end-June deadline.
For the radical left-led Greek government, the proposals, which involved more spending cuts in exchange for more rescue cash, were unacceptable. It’s urging a “no” vote and says that will have no impact on Greece’s euro status.