Yanis Varoufakis, Greece’s finance minister, has resigned, following a No vote in that country’s referendum.
Varoufakis announced the move on his personal blog, saying that it is essential that the political capital given to the Syriza-led coalition by “the splendid No vote be invested immediately” in a deal involving “debt restructuring, less austerity, redistribution in favour of the needy, and real reforms”.
The former finance minister and economics professor says that he was “made aware of a certain preference by some Eurogroup participants and assorted ‘ ‘partners’, for my… ‘absence’ from its meetings”. The Greek Prime Minister, Alexis Tspiras, is said to have deemed that absence “potentiall helpful to him in reaching an agreement”.
The resignation of Varoufakis, who was distrusted by many Eurogroup ministers, may pave the way for a deal involving debt relief, although the prospects for a deal are still slim, with both Eastern Europe and Germany holding firm.
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