Declaring that both he and the people he represents are tired of “extending and pretending” over the austerity conditions that have repeatedly been tied to bailout packages, Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis has expressed confidence that Sunday’s scheduled referendum over the latest offer from the nation’s foreign creditors, known as the Troika, will be rejected.
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In fact, he said his feelings about the deal’s inadequacy are so strong that he would “prefer to cut off his arm” than sign another agreement that does nothing to address the impossible debt burden that has been forced on Greece and its citizens.
In an interview with Bloomberg TV that aired early Thursday, Varoufakis explained that he perceives the high-stakes brinkmanship between the Syriza-led government and the Troika as one that is more political than economic in nature.
Speaking about the current imposition of capitol controls and the shuttering of Greek banks this week, Varoufakis put the blame squarely on the behavior of the Eurozone commissioners and moves made by the European Central Bank and the IMF. “There was a political decision to shut the banks down as a way of effectively pushing us to accept a non-viable agreement,” Varoufakis said. “Once the political crisis is over, after the Greek people deliver their verdict, banks will open.”
Though Varoufakis vowed the Syriza government, led by Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, would respect the wishes of the Greek people if they vote in favor on accepting continued austerity, he said that he personally would not sign the deal as it stands and would resign his post before doing so. “If there’s a yes vote then we will sign the agreement,” he said, before adding: “We may have to reconfigure the government because some of us will not be able to stomach it. I will not sign another extend and pretend deal. But I will not scupper it.”
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