Yanis Varoufakis: Grexit 'never went away' - UpFront
14,533
Published 2017-02-10
An "epidemic" washing over other European countries may see the end of the EU, warns Yanis Varoufakis, Greece’s former finance minister.
"The right question is: Is there going to be a eurozone and the European Union in one or two years’ time?" asks Varoufakis, who served as finance minister for five months under the Syriza government.
Italy is already on the way out, Varoufakis tells UpFront.
"When you allow an epidemic to start spreading from a place like Greece to Spain ... to Ireland, then eventually it gets to a place like Italy," says Varoufakis. "As we speak, only one political party in Italy wants to keep Italy in the eurozone."
When asked about his failure to pull Greece out of its debt crisis during his tenure as finance minister, Varoufakis blamed the so-called troika - the IMF, the EU Commission and the European Central Bank - by intentionally sabotaging any debt-repayment agreement.
"They were only interested in crushing our government, making sure that there would be no such mutually advantageous agreement," says Varoufakis, who claims Greece was being used as a "morality tale" to scare voters in other European countries away from defying the troika.
"The only reason why we keep talking about Greece ... is because it is symptomatic of the architectural design faults and crisis of the eurozone."
All Comments (18)
-
Leader material!
-
This isn't Yanis fault. Greece was doomed the moment they joined the Euro. Britain tried to warn Greece and Italy what would happen if they joined and ignored us. We then tried to warn Germany that they would have to bail them out. It's the reason we didn't join.
-
"Greece is symptomatic of the problems in the Eurozone..."
-
When times turn bad, people's thoughts turn conservative.
-
A date for the interview would help. Published 10-FEB but I heard all this about a year ago.
-
"That which is unsustainable, will not be sustained".
-
If all politicians were like Giannis, we would be living beautiful.
-
The only way to get away from the debt is to get out of the Euro zone. Then you can print money, raise trade barriers etc. Some places are good to lend to. Others are not.
-
When the banksters/Junker said "The people must not be allowed to make decisions on the economy," it was clear with whom Greece is dealing. When Junker later told YV that Greece would have won if they had stood fast and not signed another "loan"---that the EU stood to lose everything---we learned the way we have to go now. The 2018 time has come to draw the line and build a future without these parasites on the working people of all Europe. DIEM25
-
in globalisation times, what"s easier for bankers to make politics - creating owes in one country, regrouping the assets to an(other) countrY(ies); GETTING THEIR "LOSSES" there paid from the taxpayers ?
-
A good politician says things which guide the opposition towards his goal. That's not the same as speaking the truth. That's the problem with the political culture, but that's how it is right now. Varoufakis isn't suitable for a political office. I agree with everything he says though...!
-
Yanis, there is going to be an election soon in Greece. The IMF has walked out of the programme and the 3rd MoU is dead i.e. Greece can implement no more measures and Greece won't be getting any more bailout funds and will be in debt default by the summer, yet again. Get ready to join Aleksis again and this time to implement the plan you have drawn up when you were the finance minister.
-
The anti-Marxism of Yanis Varoufakis https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2015/02/28/varo-f28.html
-
What an ego "I,I,I,I,I,I". No solutions at all.
-
yeah grexit never went away cause Varoufakis did his best to almost make it happen when he was finance minister . i hate the lack of accountability when it comes to this clown . cant al jazeera find decent commentators and have to resort to people like him ?
-
you can grexit....but china and germany own greece,,,
-
yanis is watching to much alex jones
