Will the Greeks drag us into an abyss tomorrow? On the eve of a vote that could plunge OUR economy into crisis, the rage and fear sweeping a nation betrayed by the hubris of Europe's political elite 

Midday in Athens at Varkakios, the meat and fish market, and amid the traders’ cries I find myself being serenaded, in English, by an 89-year-old shopper.

‘Good night, Irene,’ Dimitrios Stefanakis quavers, gripping my arm. His unexpected rendition of an American folk song dissolves into a choking, sardonic laugh. One of the next lines would have been: ‘Sometimes I have a great notion to jump into the river and drown.’

We had been talking politics and the looming abyss. No other subject is being discussed in Greece this extraordinary week.

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Into the abyss: The next step is simple. Tomorrow Greeks march to the very edge of the abyss and perhaps beyond. They will go to the polls in a referendum called by the coalition government, headed by Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras' left-wing anti-capitalist Syriza party

In every shop, every home, every bar and city pavement cafe; in the anxious queue by every dwindling petrol supply or overworked and underfunded cash machine at a shuttered bank; on the walls of distinguished buildings are myriad defiant daubings of Oxi! (No) painted by the Far Left or Right, who are in strange alliance, or, as rare as hen’s teeth, a resigned Nai (Yes) by some moderate, middle-ground activist.

The television schedules have been cleared for nothing else; you go to sleep with pundits of opposing factions shouting at and over each other on ‘discussion’ panels. You wake up to more shouting from a television panel of fresh angry faces. In short, hysteria.

To what or whom was the almost blind Mr Stefanakis crooning adieu, I had asked him.

‘Greece — and the Eurozone,’ he replied. ‘I have never seen such a hard situation since the German Occupation. I have a little money which I keep at home, but we, the people, are under the hammer, waiting to see what will happen next.’

Thousands on 'NO' protesters gather in front of the parliament building in Athens. The ballot paper will ask voters whether they reject (Oxi) or accept (Nai) the tough terms demanded last week by Eurozone ministers if Greece is to receive a third bailout from the European Central Bank

A demonstrator shows the word "No" written on the palm of his hand during an anti-austerity rally in Syntagma Square in Athens this evening. The far left and the far right are in alliance over the decision

Greek protesters shout slogans during a demonstration calling for a 'No' vote in the upcoming referendum. It is only the middle-ground that offers up a resigned 'Yes'

The next step is very simple. Tomorrow Greeks march to the very edge of the abyss and perhaps beyond. They will go to the polls in a referendum called by the coalition government, headed by Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras’s left-wing anti-capitalist Syriza party.

The ballot paper asks whether the voters reject (Oxi) or accept (Nai) the tough terms demanded last week by Eurozone ministers if Greece is to receive a third bailout from the European Central Bank, worth almost €30 billion.

T he demands included raising taxes, slashing welfare and pensions and other public spending. With a debt of more than €300 billion (€10 billion of which is owed to UK banks) Greece is already bankrupt in all but name.

Many now say that a ‘No’ vote will lead to Greece crashing out not only of the euro but also the European Union.

A week ago Mr Tsipras, the youngest prime minister for 75 years, and his hipster finance minister, Yanis Varoufakis, apparently believed they could face off the formidable German Chancellor Angela Merkel and all the bully-boy Brussels capitalists.

They believed they would get the Greek bailout extension with relatively little pain and stay in the Eurozone. In other words, business as usual, even if it meant the new bailout was simply paying for the old one.

A riot policeman holds a chair during minor clashes with demonstrators before a rally organized by supporters of the No vote in Athens. The majority of the population seem set to reject the proposal, which demands a rise in taxes and slashed welfare and pensions

A woman makes the V-sign under a European Union flag during a rally organized by supporters of the Yes vote in Athens. Many now say that a No vote will lead to Greece crashing out not only of the euro but also the European Union

So last weekend they unilaterally announced tomorrow’s referendum: forget the bigwigs; let the people decide if they want austerity, or the beautiful, theoretical future promised by their Syriza Party.

That is when the slide towards the abyss quickened. Furious Eurozone ministers called off the bailout negotiations. There would be no more money to save Greece once the current second bailout expired on Tuesday this week.

The Greek central bank could not sit and do nothing. Radical measures had to be imposed if there was not going to be a catastrophic run on the banks. So the retail banks closed their doors for the week.

Capital controls were enforced so that Greeks were allowed to withdraw only €60 (£42) a day of their savings from those cash tills that still had money.

Many businesses stopped accepting credit cards. Those who had money began to stockpile food and petrol.

Greece's Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras delivers a speech during a rally organized by supporters of the No vote in Athens. Mr Tsipras announced the referendum last week, letting the people decide if they want austerity, or the theoretical future promised by the Syriza party

In Britain, George Osborne warned holidaymakers heading for Greece to take all they would expect to spend in cash and advised expat pensioners to consider swapping their accounts to a British bank.

Tuesday’s deadline for Greece to repay a €1.6 billion loan to the International Monetary Fund came and went. Greece defaulted. Only three other countries are in default to the IMF: failed African states Sudan, Somalia and Zimbabwe. The slide continued.

International credit agencies reduced the ratings of Greek banks to almost junk value. Meanwhile, Greek consumer credit was not being extended for essential supplies.

On the island of Ikaria, famed for the longevity of its inhabitants, cooking gas ran out midweek. No credit from the suppliers.

A wider crisis for the crucial Greek tourist industry emerged; the number of visitors to the Greek islands has halved from last year. Ferries are empty; cancellations unprecedented. 

A week ago, Mr Tsipras (left) - the youngest prime minister for 75 years - and his finance minister Yanis Varoufakis (right), believed they could face off the formidable German Chancellor Angela Merkel and all the bully-boy Brussels capitalists

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras delivers a speech at an anti-austerity rally in Syntagma Square in Athens. Following the announcement of the referendum, furious Eurozone ministers called off the bailout negotiations

By Wednesday, Mr Tsipras appeared to be rattled and in retreat. He sent a letter to the Eurozone ministers accepting the substance of their demands, while asking for concessions on pensions, taxation and defence cuts. But by then Mrs Merkel and other Eurozone leaders had hardened against Greek accusations and insults.

So, for now, Eurozone financiers have stopped taking the increasingly desperate calls from Athens. They will be ‘deaf’ until after the provocative referendum.

Veiled threats also emerged from European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, who announced that a ‘No’ vote would be akin to Greece committing suicide.

Mr Tsipras calls this blackmail and reiterates his call for an Oxi vote, but events have been running away from him. He and his finance minister could be first into the abyss.

This week, I travelled through this beautiful, economically illiterate country; north-west from Athens to the Ionian islands where Greece’s largest ‘colony’ of British expats reside. For them, there is also the knowledge that events in Greece are intriguing background music for Britain’s troubled relationship with Europe.

A protester reads a banner who marked 'No' during a demonstration calling for a 'No' vote in the upcoming referendum. The Greek central bank was forced to impose radical measures, closing the doors to retail banks for the week to prevent a catastrophic run on the banks

Greek protesters gather during a demonstration calling for a 'No' vote in the upcoming referendum. In Britain, George Osborne warned holidaymakers heading for Greece to take all they would expect to spend in cash and advised expat pensioners to consider swapping their accounts to a British bank

David Cameron hopes to renegotiate the terms of our relationship with Brussels before a referendum on membership of the EU, which he has pledged to hold by 2017. So it is illuminating to see how much the European Union’s power-brokers will cede in terms of money and control in order to keep a state in the EU.

What struck me was ordinary people’s awareness. I was asked by the man in the street about the timing of our referendum and the speech in Berlin last week by the Queen calling for European unity. These nuances matter when you feel your country is on the brink of something dreadful.

As far as the Eurozone goes, the Greek situation is an existential crisis. Greece was a small, southern European country with a culture, since 1945, of three families dominating politics by patronage.

It has had a tax system which almost made avoidance easier than payment, particularly by the rich, but Brussels and the IMF, it seems now, wanted Athens aboard the euro project, no matter what.

So today, it is ordinary people who are hurting. At Varkakios market, Mr Stefanakis was shopping with his carer: ‘We came here to buy cheap meat. It is the cheapest meat you can buy in Athens. The money is going. People are scared.’

One of the fishmongers was equally despondent. Valentini Alka, 45, was trying to sell a crate of small sea bream. She said: ‘Business is awful, really awful. We cannot even cover our costs. I bought these fish for two euros a kilo and I will sell them for two euros a kilo.’

Supporters wave flags during Mr Tsipras' speech at an anti-austerity rally in Athens. Greece failed to repay its €1.6billion loan to the International Monetary Fund on Tuesday and defaulted. It joined failed African states Sudan, Zimbabwe and Somalia as the only countries in default to the IMF

By Wednesday, Mr Tsipras appeared to be sufficiently rattled and sent a letter to the Eurozone ministers accepting the substance of their demands, while asking for some concessions on pensions, taxation and defence cuts. But by then Mrs Merkel and other Eurozone leaders had hardened against Greek accusations and insults

On Wednesday, the government let 1,000 banks open for pensioners only because many do not have ATM cards. They could withdraw €120.

By nature, Greeks are not taciturn. They like to talk, and talk fast. Now imagine a room full of Greek pensioners who fear they might not get their pension. That was the scene at the bank in Corfu Town on Wednesday. It was chaos.

On Corfu’s north coast, the Alpha Bank in Acharavi had also opened. ‘We will open on three consecutive days and we are doing it alphabetically,’ said the pleasant manager. ‘Letters A to I today.’

‘Too bad if your name is Zafiropoulos?’ I suggested. The manager gave a mirthless laugh. The €60 withdrawal limit (not affecting British bank cards yet) had helped cash availability, he said. That limit has fallen even further, to €50, as the banks struggle to stay afloat. Yesterday, it was reported they are down to their last €500 million, barely enough to last this weekend.

Others have been less sanguine. Ilias Psinakis, mayor of the ancient battle site of Marathon, and Greece’s most flamboyant public servant (think a gay, plastic-surgery-honed Boris Johnson) lost the plot. ‘You c***s,’ he tweeted at Syriza. ‘I better not see a single old lady waiting for her money outside a bank.’

Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis and his wife Danae attend an address by the Greek prime minister in downtown Athens. Veiled threats have emerged from European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, who announced that a 'No' vote would be akin to Greece committing suicide

Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis reacts next to a girl as he attends an address by the Greek prime minister in downtown Athens. For the British expats, events in Greece are intriguing background music for Britain's troubled relationship with Europe

A more measured but no less passionate response came from Briton Jeni Gardiner. She arrived on the north-west coast of Corfu from Newcastle aged 20 on an Interrail ticket. That was 36 years ago. For the past ten years she has owned and run Jeni’s Cafe, the social hub of the Sidari district’s older British expats.

There, I met former London publican Bill Russell, 65, who retired eight years ago. He told me that when the Greek economy got a little ‘wobbly’ six years ago, he anticipated George Osborne’s advice and swapped from a Greek to a British bank.

Others did the same he said or, because the euro was strong at the time, simply went home. Economically, Jeni is Greek, having paid Greek taxes, for which she expects to receive a Greek pension. Now, she is caught in the hurricane. ‘No one can say what the next day will bring,’ she said. ‘But the Greeks are tenacious people.

‘People here didn’t pay their tax, but that was because the system allowed them not to. The two main political parties were not prepared to put in changes because it would lose votes. The people who took the money were the ones at the top, and now everyday people are paying the price.

‘The Greeks were cooking the books before they went into the Euro. Brussels knew that, but wanted them to be in, to make a bigger alliance, when other groupings like the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia were falling apart.’

Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis is cheered and kissed by people during an address by the Greek prime minister in downtown Athens. But polls suggest a strong majority 'No' vote at the start of this week was moving towards a balance, if not a 'Yes'. Mr Varoufakis has said he will resign in the population supports another EU bailout

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras (centre) waves as he walks to Syntagma Square in Athens to give a speech to his supporters. But for the people, the future is bleak whatever the vote. While Greek debt is 175 per cent of GDP, even if the country signed up to the recent bailout demands, according to a leaked EU paper it would still be running s debt of 118 per cent of GDP by 2030

She does not seem to be an advocate of Greek inclusion in the great EU experiment, nor the euro: ‘I’m no economist but it seems obvious all these countries have different costs of living, expenditure and money cultures, so it was never going to work.’

Yesterday, the referendum was being challenged as unfairly rushed and unconstitutional by the Council of Europe and some Greeks.

Polls also suggested a strong majority ‘No’ vote at the start of this week was moving towards a balance, if not a ‘Yes’. Perhaps several days of closed banks and dwindling funds put the fear of God into the Greeks, convincing them to swallow their pride and accept the EU’s terms.

One poll suggests 44.8 pc will vote ‘Yes’, 43.4 pc ‘No’ — bad news for finance minister Mr Varoufakis, who says he will resign if voters support another EU bailout.

Meanwhile, discord within the ruling coalition has mounted: some non-Syriza ministers will vote ‘Yes’, along with the Greek President.

For the people, the future is bleak whatever the vote. While Greek debt is 175 pc of GDP, even if the country signed up to the recent bailout demands, according to a leaked EU paper it would still be running a debt of 118pc of GDP by 2030.

The IMF says it will need another €50 billion over the next three years to stay afloat.

Greece gave the words ‘politics’ and ‘abyss’ to the world: the first derives from the Ancient Greek politika, meaning ‘affairs of state’, the second from abyssos, meaning ‘bottomless’.

In return, the world — in the shape of European finance ministers, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund — is about to teach modern Greece a very hard lesson.