Greek vote campaign underway

Associated Press

ATHENS, Greece

The battle for Greek votes entered full swing Thursday ahead of a crucial weekend referendum that could decide whether the country falls out of the euro. For Greeks, particularly the elderly, the daily struggle to get cash ground on in the face of uncertainty.

Greece’s rescue lenders have halted negotiations on a new financial-aid program until after the vote on whether to accept reforms the creditors proposed last week in exchange for bailout loans.

That Greece will now need a third international bailout is a near certainty. The International Monetary Fund, one of the country’s creditors in its two bailouts so far, said Thursday that the country needs debt relief and 50 billion euros ($56 billion) in new financing from October through 2018.

The analysis was made before Greece defaulted on IMF loans Tuesday and closed its banks Monday. The outlook is worse now.

Debt relief has been one of the main demands of Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras’ government, but it met with strenuous resistance in negotiations with Greece’s creditors who, apart from the IMF, are other eurozone countries and the European Central Bank.

But Tsipras also has been adamant he does not want any more bailouts involving just loans – rather a different “growth pact” with Europe that will allow the economy to emerge from a depression.

Tsipras called the referendum for Sunday advocating voters reject creditor’s proposals, saying it would put the country in a stronger negotiating position.