Let the people speak!

In the end, the best summary of the Greek crisis was given by Evangelos Venizelos, the Greek finance minister:

I can no longer look at polls where the majority is against the agreement, the majority is against the program, but a majority is also in favor of staying in the euro.

Greece (and the Eurozone more generally) is poised between two deeply unpleasant choices: accepting the deal, which won't solve the debt crisis and will lead to more punishing and deeply unpopular austerity measures; or refusing the deal and starting on the path of default, decouple and devalue. Neither are pretty. Neither are remotely desirable. But one of them must be done.

What the referendum is, essentially, is a requirement that the Greek people act like adults and take a bit of responsibility for the future of their own country. I don't imagine that this will be terribly popular.