THEWORLDPOST THE HUFFINCTON POST BERGGRUEN INSTITUTE NAI EAAAAA MAI HO EYPO 1 ft IPS MESSINIS Images A man sits at a bus station next to a poster reading 'YES to Greece, yes to the Euro' ahead of o referendum in Athens on July 2, 2015. Charlotte Alfred: July 2, 2015 A tense standoff between the Greek government and its international creditors reached a breaking point this week. On Tuesday, Greece became the first developed countryever to miss a debt repayment to the International Monetary Fund. Meanwhile, the government is preparing to hold a national referendum on a new proposed bailout deal. Creditors are insisting that Greece implement spending cuts and tax increases in order to seal a new agreement on bailout funds. Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras saysthese demands, along with the dire warnings about Greece's future in the eurozone, constitute "blackmail" against his government, which was elected in January on an anti-austerity platform. As the drama plays out, economists and political analysts are trading theories about what went wrong and who is to blame. For some, Greece's government has presided for too long over irresponsible economic policies, and is now playing a game of political brinkmanship to avoid the day of reckoning for its huge debts. Others say the international creditors are placing unreasonable demands on Greece after it has endured years of painful austerity as a condition for international loans. Mare of 6 EFTA01207213