Fmr. Greek PM Papandreou: I Support the ‘Yes’ Side

Former Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou stressed he “supports the ‘yes’ side” of the country’s July 5th referendum.

In an interview on FOX Business Network’s Countdown to the Closing Bell, he told Liz Claman that the situation in Greece is “becoming a dangerous drama, which could lead to anything… a very peculiar, if not dangerous outcome.”

The former Prime Minister, who served from 2009 to 2011, spent time dealing with a similar debt crisis that the country faces today.

“In 2010, I decided to ask for the bailout in Greece, in fact, to avoid what we are seeing today,” Papandreou said. “Quite a few people doubted that this could happen. I thought that we had avoided it in 2010 forever.”

Though Papandreou stated he understands the emotional response, he explained what a ‘no’ vote could mean for the country and its economy.

“We have to see why we had to take these measures, and that the choice of a ‘no’ vote would make it much worse,” he said. “We will become more dependent, we will have more cuts, more austerity and I think the adjustment will be very abrupt and very painful, particularly for the poor and middle class in Greece."

Late Tuesday, Greece missed a €1.5 billion IMF payment, putting the region in arrears.