Telegraph — George Osborne spearheads assault to stop Greece 'suicide'

Elite freak out underway as Sampson Syriza pulls down the pillars. Shades of Lehman looming.

George Osborne on Monday led attempts to strong-arm Greece into voting for a bail-out package as he warned that a Greek exit would threaten Britain’s financial stability. Britain joined Germany, France, Italy and the European Commission in telling the Greek people that refusing austerity measures in next Sunday’s referendum would catapult them “from the eurozone and from Europe".

Jean-Claude Juncker, the European Commission president, warned the Greeks – who are on Tuesday night expected to default on a €1.5 billion (£1.1 billion) loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) – not to “commit suicide” by rejecting the proposed €12 billion loans-for-reforms package. The threat comes despite voters being asked only whether they support the bail-out.

Some £36 billion was wiped off the value of major British companies on the FTSE 100 as markets slid around the world, while Greeks queued in their thousands at cash machines, petrol stations and supermarkets for a third day....

Hold strong Syriza. Democracy is working. Best line:

Greece on Monday published the ballot paper for Sunday’s vote, with No, or Oxi, at the top. The word carries powerful resonance in Greece from the day in October 1940 when it refused Mussolini’s ultimatum.

If this weren't so pitiful, I'd be laughing. The eurocrats are getting what they deserve. And no, they are still not willing to compromise one inch. That's the real neoliberalism on display. It's like catching a monkey by putting a banana in pot. The monkey grasps the banana and won't let go, so it is caught by its own greed. The Telegraph George Osborne spearheads assault to stop Greece 'suicide'