overcome and than the consequences will be minor. isa suarez is joining me from athens to talk about this. i couldn t help but thinking about the election tsipras was so full of promises and now the country is close to default. do the greek people feel their prime minister has failed them? reporter: it s a mixed message to be honest. if you asked me a week ago or so people would have said that alexis tsipras has been playing his cards pretty tough. he promised to push back on austerity. many people think he has done the right thing by saying no to pension cuts and rises in v.a.t. many are proud of. that but given how things have
crisis took a dramatic downturn over the weekend when prime minister tsipras called for a referendum on the bailout. reporter: among antique vases, porcelain statues and paintings of old, tourists bargain for a piece of the greek past. it s a flea market full of history with tales to match it. yanis has been selling wears here for over 50 years and he never thought it would get to this. i have never seen a situation like this he says not even back in the 1960s when the country had just come out of civil war. we used to have work then. the greek public doesn t want any more adventures. we are tired. we have suffered too much he tells me. this father is fed up and clearly very emotional. after five months of talks and
he has never felt so much pressure and with good reason, too. he tells me this is a family business that provides for seven people. my children are all unemployed. the mood here is very bad. there is no motivation left in us, only discord, misery and no one feels safe. despite the feelings of desperation and frustration, he believes that the government of alexis tsipras has played its hand well against the creditors. i think the government has handled the situation the right way. even if we say yes to the proposals it would be as painful as going back to the drachmas. regardless of the outcome of the referendum they will return to their stores once more perhaps to face a different crisis one where these old drachmas will be more than just a remnant of the past. and zain you can see the
it s a story we have been following all weekend. greece is one day closer to default and authorities there are scrambling to prevent a run on the banks. the banks are closed for at least a week and greeks are lining up at atms but are limited to withdrawing $67 a day in cash. these are capital controls. they were imposed after the european central bank refused to provide more funds. the prime minister tried to reassure the public in this televised address. translator: the deposits of citizens in greek banks are absolutely secured as are the payments of salaries and pensions. any difficulties which may appear must be dealt with calmly and with resolve. the calmer we can deal with difficulties the sooner we can