Crown Prince Pavlos’ no to ‘Grexit’: As Greece prepares for an historic referendum on Sunday, which may signal its exit from the Eurozone, Crown Prince Pavlos (son of Greece’s last reigning monarch King Constantine II, pictured above with his wife, Crown Princess Marie-Chantal) has spoken out in support of the government but against its position in the referendum. The ruling Syriza party wants a ‘no’ vote in the referendum, for Greeks to reject the proposed terms for repayment of the country’s debts and strengthen the government’s negotiating position. Prince Pavlos wants a ‘yes’ vote, to accept the terms, but has called on Europe to be more understanding of Greece’s position.
Prince Pavlos said the ruling Syriza party had tried to “fight Greece’s corner, to get a better result so that we would stay within Europe . . . It is not all the fault with Greece here. Europe has put us in a very difficult position, people have been suffering dramatically.” The Prince’s hope is that “Europe has always been there to negotiate; I think they also need to give us breathing space. I think they have made that mistake over the last few months as far as I can tell. They have not given us any room for negotiating.”
Although Greece represents a small part of the Eurozone economy a ‘Grexit’ from the single currency would be of enormous symbolic and political significance, with the fear that other Eurozone countries such as Italy, Spain and Portugal could follow suit if their financial woes force them down the same path as Greece.
