A poll of Greek voters in advance of Sunday's crucial referendum on whether the country should accept or reject the bailout terms offered by the EU shows the vote too close to call.

Bloomberg:

A GPO poll cited by euro2day.gr said 47 percent leaned toward a “yes” vote, an endorsement of austerity and the international bailout. The “no” camp, the government’s position rejecting those terms, was 43 percent. The margin of error in the survey of 1,000 people was 3.1 percentage points.

The battle lines ahead of the vote appeared immovable after a day of posturing in the wake of the expiry of Greece’s bailout deal and its missing a payment to the International Monetary Fund. Politicians across Europe poured scorn on Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras’s strategy; he said the “no” vote would improve his leverage.

Greece is facing a “terrifying” economic freefall, Spanish Finance Minister Luis de Guindos said. “We can’t have an accord with someone who says ‘no,’” his French counterpart, Michel Sapin, said.

Stocks, bonds and the euro were little changed following yesterday’s gains, which reflected signs of a thaw. The Euro Stoxx 50 Index was up 0.2 percent at 8:22 a.m. in London.

Tsipras’ appeal yesterday to use Europe’s proposal as a basis for talks was accompanied by his demands. He wants to delay implementation of the zero-deficit clause for retirement funds and other pension reforms until October instead of July and maintain a 30 percent discount on sales tax for islands. He also wants to proceed with changes to collective-bargaining rules that creditors opposed.

Greece is spiraling down the commode, and Tsipras is making demands?  That's the delusional thinking of the far-left Greek government that is the root cause of the crisis.  They simply can't accept the reality of their position.  They fully expect the rest of Europe to pull their chestnuts out of the fire and continue to fund their welfare state.

It may yet happen.  Chancellor Merkel and President Hollande are casting about for a way to avoid having Greece exit the euro.  They have been pleading with Tsipras to respond to reason, accept the bailout, and work from there to put Greek finances on a firmer footing.  For his part, Tsipras is willing to go partway, but he is balking at making the substantative reforms necessary to pull Greece back from the brink.

Until one side or the other gives, there is little hope that Greece will remain in the EU, no matter the result of the referendum.