Government may resign if Greeks vote yes in referendum

Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis says the country’s left-wing government “may very well” resign if people vote yes in an upcoming referendum on whether to accept the terms of a bailout deal from the eurozone.

Responding to a question about whether the government will resign if people voted yes in the referendum, Varoufakis told Australian public radio network ABC on Thursday, “Yes, we may very well do that. But we will do this in the spirit of cooperation with whoever takes over from us.”

Meanwhile, people are rushing to the banks to withdraw their money in fear of capital controls and more financial chaos after nearly six years of crisis and deep recession.

Banks had been shuttered all week to prevent mass money withdrawals, and only a few reopened to help pensioners without cash cards.

Crowds of anxious elderly Greeks thronged banks in the capital, Athens, to withdraw their maximum of 120 euros ($134) for the week.

Greek pensioners line up outside a national bank branch in Athens, Greece, July 2, 2015. (© AFP)
“It’s very bad,” 68-year-old retired pharmacy worker Popi Stavrakaki said. “I’m afraid it will be worse soon. I have no idea why this is happening.”

Elsewhere, in Greece’s second largest city of Thessaloniki, some banks have run out of money.

“I have a shop. I came to the bank to withdraw as much money as I can in order to cover the needs of my shop for next week,” 42-year-old Maria Kalpakidou said. “If we don’t have an agreement by July 4, the Greek banking system will crash.”

Private employee Nikos, 52, also said, “There is a lot of fear of what may happen. In the last election, I voted for Syriza. But we voted for them to decide, not to transfer responsibility to us, to the Greek people.”