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Greece鈥檚 Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis, who made European leaders bristle with his lengthy lectures on economic theory, had promised to resign if Greece voted 鈥測es鈥� to accept Europe's terms for a bailout extension.聽

Greeks overwhelmingly voted 鈥渘o.鈥� But Mr. Varoufakis stepped down anyway. With typical flair, he said in a resignation statement this morning that he 鈥渟hall wear the creditors鈥� loathing with pride.鈥�

While his departure added to a week of high-stakes drama that puts Greece and Europe into uncharted waters, will it make a difference?

His departure was clearly intended to show Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras鈥檚 good faith to win a new bailout agreement from Europe, after Greece defaulted on a loan from the International Monetary Fund last Tuesday. Such a gesture is vital for Greece, as it faces financial collapse without more aid.

But it seems unlikely to聽clear the air sufficiently to regain the trust of European leaders, who viewed the snap referendum as a sucker punch in the first place. Even with Varoufakis gone from the negotiating room, the bridge between both sides has, as one German politician put it, been 鈥渢orn down.鈥�

鈥淰aroufakis has become a symbol of the ... ideologically-driven approach that the Greek government has brought to the table. So in terms of symbolism and atmosphere [his resignation] might help,鈥� says Jan Techau, the director of Carnegie Europe in Brussels. 鈥淏ut on substance not very much. Tsipras believes in this path forward. [Varoufakis鈥� resignation] won鈥檛 take most of the edge out there.鈥�

Greek defiance

Defying pollsters' predictions of a "yes" vote, a clear majority of Greeks sided with Syriza's intransigence in bailout talks. Sixty-one percent cast "no" votes Sunday, showing their disdain for creditors who had refused to loosen the austerity measures that are blamed for failing to pull Greece out of what's been called its Great Depression.聽

Hubris is running high in Athens, capped by Varoufakis鈥檚 resignation Monday morning. He called the referendum a moment in history when 鈥渁 small European nation rose up against debt-bondage.鈥�

Those words resonated in Athens, where a sense of pride propelled many to vote 鈥渘o,鈥� even though the consequences are far from clear. 鈥淚 chose not to be the guinea pig anymore of European officials,鈥� says Maria Voreakou, an unemployed college graduate whose entire family lives off her grandmother鈥檚 pension.

With Varoufakis鈥檚 departure, Greeks are hopeful that the promise of Tsipras 鈥� that a 鈥渘o鈥� vote strengthens his hand in negotiations for a new bailout deal and that Greece would remain in the euro 鈥� can be realized. Giannis Metaxas, a political analyst at the University of Athens, says that Tsipras must move quickly to score a better deal. 鈥淲ith 61 percent, you grab the opportunity,鈥� he says, 鈥渁nd this will be a victory for all of us."

But it鈥檚 unclear that leaders outside of Greece see it this way. The referendum has garnered accolades in some corners of Europe, especially from leftists in southern Europe 鈥� as well as anti-EU parties across Europe. France, which has criticized Germany for its insistence on austerity over growth, has also shown more compassion towards Greece.

German impatience

Elsewhere in Europe, mistrust is at new highs after Sunday's referendum, particularly in Germany, whose opinion counts the most. And small eastern European and Baltic countries that carried out their own painful economic reforms remain impatient with Greece not doing the same.聽

鈥淣othing will be easier,鈥� says Fran莽ois Lafond, the director of EuropaNova, a think tank in Paris. 鈥淕ermany will not accept a deal more easily because Greeks voted in favor of Tsipras.鈥�

Today German Chancellor Angela Merkel is meeting her French counterpart Fran莽ois Hollande in Paris ahead of a Europe-wide meeting called for Tuesday. Merkel and Tsipras talked via phone today, and a Greek official told reporters that the Syriza government would offer yet another bailout proposal at Tuesday's summit.聽

So far, leaders have given little sign that they plan to accommodate Greece given the results. Dutch finance minister and Eurogroup chief Jeroen Dijsselbloem said the referendum brings Athens "no closer to a solution" on its financial problems.

German Vice-Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel told the Tagesspiegel daily that聽Tsipras had "torn down the last bridges on which Greece and Europe could have moved towards a compromise,鈥� he聽

Germans have increasingly lost patience with Greece, especially in the past five months of brinkmanship with Syriza. "Back in 2010, when the Greek crisis was beginning, public opinion toward Greece was actually relatively positive," says Peter Matuschek from the German pollster Forsa. "Now we have, especially in recent weeks, a majority of Germans that want to see Greece leave the eurozone."

Today commentaries in Germany were scathing. 鈥淣o, a spark of hope for Greece is nowhere to be seen, even as supporters of Syriza celebrate after the referendum. At best, it's the light of delusion which shines so dazzlingly. In a few days, people in Athens will notice how gloomy things are in the country," wrote the daily S眉ddeutsche Zeitung. Greece has reached the end of the road when it comes to the euro.鈥�

Jumping ship?

Helena Theodorou, who is studying psychology in Athens, says that she believes Greece will ultimately be better off outside the eurozone. 鈥淒on鈥檛 forget that independent does not mean necessarily alone,鈥� she says.

But many other Greeks worry that Tsipras鈥檚 goal to keep Greece in the eurozone 鈥� as 75 percent have said they want 鈥� but with more concessions, is impossible.聽

Dimitrios Kikareas, a pensioner, says he voted 鈥測es鈥� because, even if he doesn鈥檛 agree with the hardship that bailout deals have brought Greece, at least it keeps the country firmly in the eurozone. 鈥淚 voted 鈥榶es鈥� because with a 鈥榥o鈥� who is to say that the alternative wouldn鈥檛 be worse?鈥�

Mr. Lafond, the expert in Paris, sees Varoufakis鈥檚 departure not as an act of political enlightenment, but of jumping ship after making promises Syriza can鈥檛 keep.

鈥淗e is clever,鈥� he says.

Chris Cottrell contributed to this report from Berlin.