Not Without Greece

Montserrat Domínguez - Editorial Director, The Huffington Post

How brave, these Greeks. And how foolish. As I write these lines, they are still dancing Syrtaki in Athens' Syntagma Square, right after going all in against the mighty European Union without an ace in their hands. And as they dance, some German newspapers, like the Süddeutsche Zeitung, are already printing their editions with stories that leave no room for doubt: "Show Greece the Way Out!"

 

How will official Europe react, after their silence last night?

 

Naturally, negotiations are still possible. The basis for an agreement between the Tsipras government and its creditors is still on the table, strengthened by the IMF report, which was made public last Thursday and which acknowledged that technically the Greek debt was unpayable.

 

The crux of the matter is not a technical problem, not even an exclusively political problem.

 

Greece's 'No' was so definitive, so emotional, that it mortally threatens the necessary trust to move forward in the negotiations. The dialectical knives of this nerve-racking week -- then-Finance Minister Varoufakis accusing the EU of terrorism, etc -- were effective in mobilizing the Greek people, but its boomerang effect has been the implosion of any way to bridge a new dialogue.

 

The Greeks are proud, and they just demonstrated it at the polls. But what about the wounded pride of Berlin and Brussels, of the creditors who feel insulted while at the same time are also being asked for new credit extensions?

 

The Greeks have defied fear. But how will the European governments deal with their own fears? Specifically, how will they react to the possible light-speed contagion of Syriza's rebelliousness in Spain, Portugal and Italy?

 

The Greek referendum was an exercise in flawless democracy. But how will Chancellor Angela Merkel -- and not just Germany -- placate a growing number of her voters, a growing number who are tired of Greece and who consider the country a burden that needs to be expelled from the Euro?

 

"One more victory like this one and we'll be through," reportedly said the Greek General Pyrrhus of Epirus after defeating Rome in 280 B.C. There had been so much suffering and so many casualties among his men that his conquest gave rise to the well-known expression "pyrrhic victory."

 

Hopefully, in this decisive week, Europe will also conquer its fears and show signs of the greatness that it once had. And hopefully Tsipras' victory will not turn into Phyrrus's. Hopefully it will be a victory that all Europeans can share: the end of the Holy Austerity policies. These policies, and not the Greeks, are breaking Europe in two.

 

This post originally appeared on HuffPost Spain and was translated into English.

(othernews)