Greece ’s finance minister Yanis Varoufakis has said that the Syriza government will propose new elections or a referendum on the euro, if the country’s partners reject his proposals for reforms.
In an interview with Italian “Corriere della Serra,” a day before the crucial meeting of the Eurogroup in Brussels, Varoufakis also said that there is no need for a new loan to Greece.
Asked whether Greece is facing a cash problem, Varoufakis stresses: “I can only say that we have money to pay salaries and pensions. For the rest we’ll see.”
Asked if Brussels does not accept the Greek plan, Mr. Varoufakis replies: “Then there will be a problem. But as both the Prime Minister and myself have said, we are not glued to our seats. We can go to elections or to a referendum (for the euro).”
Varoufakis describes his relations with European Central Bank (ECB) chief Mario Draghi as formal, stressing that the “ECB, instead of buying huge amounts of German bonds, would have to buy Greek bonds — yesterday and not tomorrow … The ECB in 2012 faced a similar crisis, but led by a conservative government (in Greece), it opened up funds in order to deal with the funding needs. Now it has a strict stance never before seen, a stance where it wants to discipline Greece,” said Varoufakis.
The last time a top Greek office-holder mentioned a “referendum” when facing obstacles in talks with European partners was former PM George Papandreou in late October 2011, following his purportedly diastrous meeting with Angela Merkel and then French President Nicolas Sarkozy in Cannes. Papandreou soon resigned as Greek premier, with an appointed coalition government led by one-time central banker and ECB vice-president Lucas Papademas taking over.
(source: Corriere della Serra)
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