If Greece had voted ‘Yes’ to the austerity package proposed by its creditors, then there would have been a round of resignations at the top of Syriza. But this morning, even though the party is celebrating a ‘No’ vote, its finance minister Yanis Varoufakis has resigned.
Writing on his blog, he explains that in order for the country to get a good deal that it can accept, he needs to let someone else take over:
‘Soon after the announcement of the referendum results, I was made aware of a certain preference by some Eurogroup participants, and assorted ‘partners’, for my… ‘absence’ from its meetings; an idea that the Prime Minister judged to be potentially helpful to him in reaching an agreement. For this reason I am leaving the Ministry of Finance today.’
Eurozone leaders and finance ministers have hardly made their dislike for the flamboyant Varoufakis a secret, although he had already taken a less prominent role in negotiations at times. He says ‘I shall wear the creditors’ loathing with pride’. What the resignation is designed to show, as well as that Varoufakis is proud of being unpopular with EU leaders, is that Alexis Tspiras wants to show that he is serious about going back to the negotiating table, as his finance minister was a serious block to a future agreement.
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