THE AUSTRALIAN: BANKS closed, supermarkets looted, riots, people frisked for hidden wads of euros as they flee the country, government wages and pensions paid in IOUs, aircraft evacuating stranded holidaymakers. That is the nightmare scenario of a disorderly Greek exit from the eurozone that has been dubbed "drachmageddon".
A nervous calm prevailed in Athens yesterday as the country heads into an election on Sunday that could provoke panic. A win by leftist Syriza would raise the prospect of a Greek exit from the euro, even though Syriza insists it wants to remain in the zone.
Experts see a "Grexit" as fraught with danger. "I would wish for a good scenario to take place, or the least bad. But one can't exclude a bad scenario, where people react, I won't say violently, but nervously, and we will have all kinds of trouble," said Thanos Dokos, director of the respected ELIAMEP think tank in Athens.
"People looting shops and banks - although what kind of money would they get out of a bank? Clashes between the police and extremist elements who would take advantage of the opportunity to cause trouble. Shortages of goods can also happen."
Secret talks between European finance officials this week are understood to have examined possible limits on withdrawals from cash machines, reimposing border checks despite Greece's membership in the Schengen zone and reinstituting capital controls. One fear is that a Syriza victory would provoke a run on the banks that would force the country out of the euro before the new government could take office.
Syriza leader Alexis Tsipras dismisses such talk as fear-mongering by his political opponents. At a press conference, he warned: "The biggest threat is not our creditors. It's our own panic."
Syriza officials, however, admit there is a realistic prospect that the incoming government will have to limit bank withdrawals. » | James Bone, Athens | The Times | Friday, June 15, 2012
