Greek Finance Minister Resigns

Greece’s embattled finance minister, Yanis Varoufakis, has resigned his post, saying the move could help Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras reach an agreement with creditors.

Varoufakis wrote in a blog post early Monday, “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,” he continued. “I shall wear the creditors’ loathing with pride.”His departure was confirmed by Greece’s Ministry of Finance in a separate statement.

It is recorded that during his time in government, Varoufakis refused to adopt the mannerisms of a conventional European politician.

Instead, he dressed informally and loudly.

Varoufakis frequently appeared in media, launching biting rhetorical attacks against rival negotiators and governments.

Though this may have appealed to populists, critics have said that his style failed to win many fans in the negotiating room.His resignation comes just hours after Greece voted against Europe’s latest bailout offer in a national referendum.

Analysts say that the country could now suffer a worse economic disaster and lose its place in the euro zone.

More than 60% heeded the left-wing prime minister Tsipras’s call to vote “no.”

He hopes to force Europe to hand over more money with less austerity attached, and cancel some of Greece’s enormous debt.Pictures showed thousands of Greeks celebrating in the streets of Athens after the vote on Sunday.

But observers say that the result sets Greece on an uncertain path that could force it to abandon the euro and print its own currency, a move that could inflict huge damage on the economy.

However, in another blog post, Varoufakis said the vote was a “majestic, big YES to a democratic Europe.”

He said, “It is a NO to the dystopic vision of a Eurozone that functions like an iron cage for its peoples.”

The world watches on as Greece battles its way to financial freedom, risking its place in the Euro.

by naij