Greece Rejects 25th Hour Request to Change Course; Tsipras Asks Eurozone for Third Bailout; Rajoy Seeks to Save His Own Ass

Coordinated Meddling

Eurozone leaders are pouring it on thick again today with warning after warning. Yesterday, German chancellor Angela Merkel, French president Francois Hollande, and European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker were all I in on the Coordinated Meddling hoping to convince Greece citizens to accept the current offer.

Rajoy Seeks to Save His Own Ass

Today Spain's prime minister, Mariano Rajoy, joined the hit parade. Like yesterday's trio, he issued another blunt warning to Greek voters that a No vote will force the country to leave the eurozone.

Rajoy also argued that it would be “good for Greece” if Mr Tsipras, who is backing a No vote, was defeated in the Greek plebiscite and forced out of office.

Recall that Tsipras is good friends with Podemos leader Pablo Iglesias. Like Tsipras, Iglesias wants to halt Eurozone austerity rules. Moreover, Iglesias has threatened to take Spain out of the Eurozone.

I suggest Rajoy is worried about his own ass in Spanish national elections later this year as Podemos has surged in the polls and is within striking distance of winning the election.

Greece Rejects 25th Hour to Change Course

In spite of the pleas, Greece Rejects Creditor Pleas to Change Course.

Greece’s government entered its final day in an EU bailout defiantly rejecting eleventh-hour pleas from its eurozone creditors to change course. It is now on a path that will lead to default on a €1.6bn loan repayment to the International Monetary Fund and being without a financial safety net for the first time in five years.

The IMF default, confirmed by Yanis Varoufakis, the finance minister, on Tuesday, will make Greece the first developed country in history to go into “arrears” with the fund. But it is not expected to have a direct impact on the country’s status in the eurozone. Credit rating agencies and EU bailout lenders have signalled they will not consider non-payment a “credit event” that triggers other defaults — a move that would bankrupt Athens immediately.

“The exit of Greece from the euro area, which used to be a theoretical question, can unfortunately no longer be ruled out,” Benoit Coeuré, the ECB board member responsible for Greek issues, said in an interview published on Tuesday in the French financial daily Les Echos.

Mariano Rajoy, Spain’s prime minister, on Tuesday joined fellow eurozone leaders in a blunt warning to Greek voters that a No vote will force the country to leave the eurozone.

He also argued that it would be “good for Greece” if Mr Tsipras, who is backing a No vote, was defeated in the plebiscite, paving the way for talks with “another government” in Athens.

“If Tsipras loses the referendum, this will be good for Greece. If he wins the referendum, Greece has no alternative other than to leave the euro,” Mr Rajoy told the Cope radio station.

Greece Asks Eurozone for Third Bailout

Curiously, Greece Just Asked Eurozone for New, Third, Bailout

Alexis Tsipras, the Greek prime minister, has asked eurozone authorities for a new, third bailout in a dramatic bid to try and secure a financial lifeline hours before the country’s current rescue deal expires.

The request, sent to the eurozone’s €500bn rescue fund on Tuesday, would cover Greece’s needs for the next two years, according to a statement from the prime minister’s office. It also makes a specific request for debt restructuring, the statement said.

Political Ploy

This request by Tsipras is nothing but a political ploy.

For those wavering, Tsipras provides hope that Greece will stay on the euro. He intends to convince older voters that Greece can still stay on the euro. The youth, with unemployment rates over 50% would prefer to start all over.

This move gives Greek voters of all ages a reason to vote "no" on the referendum. The meddling by Germany, France, and now Spain also will take a toll on the Troika cause.

Thus, a decisive "no" vote appears to be in the cards. As pertains to game-playing, Greek leaders have run circles around the eurozone nannycrats.

Mike "Mish" Shedlock
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com