Referendums and to some degree voting in general only exists because they can lend legitimacy to policy decisions. And if they don't? Time for "realpolitik". Financial realities, you see. And it's not just the EU The way I read the whole ting, Tsirpas and Varoufakis knew that the EU had them by the balls. It was either "accept being colonialized" or "crash". But they couldn't accept the conditions since they got voted into office on a promise of putting an end to the exploitation of the Greek people. They were hoping that the Greek would be scared enought to vote "Yes" to the EU plans. That way, they could have accepted the terms and justified it with "the people have spoken". But the Greeks said "Oxi". A day later, Varoufakis resigns. He knew what was comming.