On Greece: Hollande, Merkel

Syriza and its cheerleaders on the both the left and right elsewhere in Europe have cast the Greek vote as a long-overdue democratic revolt against policies of austerity championed by Germany.

In a sign that Athens is keen to seek a new deal, Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis has resigned, apparently under pressure from other eurozone finance ministers who did not want him as a negotiating partner. “We will now wait for the initiatives of the Greek authorities”, he said.

Tsipras had earlier promised Merkel that Greece would bring a proposal for a deal to an emergency summit of euro zone leaders on Tuesday, a Greek official said.

“There have been many ways to repay debts, and not just one, which is what Berlin and Paris would have the Greeks believe, ” he said.

BRUSSELS, July 7 German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Tuesday she hoped to have sufficient reform proposals from Greece this week to be able to ask the German parliament to approve negotiations on a new long-term aid programme for Athens.

Tsipras, 40, insists that instead of Grexit, the creditors will now finally have to talk about restructuring Greece’s massive 240 billion euro ($267 billion) debt.

At home, Merkel’s challenges in winning support for any kind of accommodation with Greece are personified by her finance minister, Wolfgang Schauble.

Mrs Merkel added: “It will be important tomorrow that the Greek prime minister tells us how things should proceed and what precise suggestions he can submit to us for a medium-term programme that will lead Greece to prosperity and growth again”.

Late on Monday, the prime minister’s office said Tsipras had spoken with European Union Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker and Hollande. After jubilant celebrations by “No” voters following their 61% referendum victory, Greeks returned to the reality of queuing at ATMs for their daily withdrawal limit of ‚60.

Losses on the ECB’s bonds would be shared among eurozone central banks, which could result in a reduction in the profits the Bundesbank pays to the government.

Westpac strategist Imre Speizer tipped the Aussie dollar to remain in a bearish mood on Tuesday, saying it could fall below 74.50 United States cents during the next few days. “It’s really crushing me”.

Despite its tougher approach on debt relief, Germany said yesterday that eurozone leaders should discuss humanitarian aid for a country worn out by years of belt-tightening and chronic unemployment.

“We must now cover their needs very quickly”.

The European Commission said in a brief statement that it “takes note of and respects” the referendum result.

Jeroen Dijsselbloem, head of the Eurogroup of finance ministers, said “difficult measures and reforms are inevitable” for Greece to recover.

Ahead of the eurozone summit, Europe scrambled to calm fears that the “No” vote could end up splitting the bloc. “We have everything we need to manage the situation”. However, Italy, the Eurozone’s third-largest economy, is more sympathetic towards the Greeks, having more to lose from a fresh bout of market volatility.

“Lots of bad blood is on the floors”. But because of factors ranging from Germany’s good fiscal position-it is now generating a budget surplus-buoyant tax revenues, and the fact that many loans to Greece aren’t set to mature for many years, many economists argue that Berlin would weather a Greek default largely unscathed.