Greece referendum may well be a political gamble to buy more time

GREEK Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras's decision to call for a national referendum on July 5 may not have been an impulsive move.

Rather, it could have been a calculated political gamble to buy more time. The referendum was announced just ahead of the deadline to pay back 1.6 billion euros (S$2.4 billion) that Greece owes to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which was due on Tuesday (European time).

Markets and financial analysts are keeping a close watch on how this plays out. Mr Tsipras and his supporters have upped the rhetoric and indicated that they would wait for the results of the referendum on the "strict and humiliating austerity" measures that were being imposed on Greece by the European Union, in return for financial assistance, before deciding on the next course of action. The EU on its part has said a "no" vote effectively mean…