When Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras dropped the bombshell of a popular plebiscite on the tough demands of creditors keeping Greece afloat, he cited the country's pedigree as the "birthplace of democracy."

Greeks, the left-wing prime minister said last weekend, "should send a resounding democratic message to the European and global community."

For some, however, Sunday's sudden referendum is, at best, a distortion of democracy.