Greece’s fight is for democracy in Europe. That’s why we must support it | Owen Jones

The EU powers told Greeks their world would cave in unless they acquiesced by voting yes. The no vote has raised the political stakes even higher

From the cradle of democracy, a lion has roared. It is difficult to overstate the pressure the Greek people have both endured and defied. A country that has already experienced an austerity-induced economic disaster with few precedents among developed nations in peacetime has suffered a sustained campaign of economic and political warfare. The European Central Bank - which has only recently deigned to publish some of the minutes of its meetings - capped liquidity for Greek banks, driving them to the verge of collapse. There were stringent capital controls, and desperate queues outside banks followed. A country desperate to stay within the euro was told it would be ejected, and with calamitous results.

That's what the EU pulled off in Italy and Berlusconi - it should have been his people who removed him

Related: Yanis Varoufakis's resignation statement: 'I wear the creditors' loathing with pride'

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