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From the beginning, I was telling my comrades,
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my colleagues, the war cabinet, the Prime Minister
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that this is going to be
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a multi-month war of attrition.
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The creditors will asphyxiate us
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and keep on asphyxiating us
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until we reach the deadline.
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There had to be certain repayments by the Greek state
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to the International Monetary Fund
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and to the European Central Bank, money we didn't have.
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So either we agreed to borrow it from them in order
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to pretend that we were repaying them
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or there had to be a debt restructure, which is what
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the purpose of our election was.
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And only at the very last moment when they realised
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that we're not going to back down, would they come to us
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with an honourable agreement.
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That was of the essence... a capacity
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to withstand the pressure,
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however great it was, up until the very last moment
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because the very last moment would be
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the only moment of truth.
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Everything before that would be
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a labyrinth of deception.
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The Troika were adamant that Tsípras should not be able
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to present himself as a prime minister
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who managed to get a deal with them.
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They wanted him to be presented as somebody
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that was completely and utterly ritually humiliated.
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So every time he said yes to their demands,
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they asked for something more.
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The pressure upon me to resign had reached
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its heights.
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I didn't resign because I knew they would not allow him
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to surrender without dragging him through the mud,
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without closing down the banks, without
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imposing a tremendous cost upon the people
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of Greece for having resisted.
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And as long as I maintained in my heart of hearts
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the slightest subjective probability of belief that,
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when he's in the mud, he would turn around
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and say, "Yanis, okay, you were right. Let's do it.
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Let's now confront them. Let's now resist them.
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Let's now say no to them..." I stayed and I didn't resign.
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On the 21st of June 2015,
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he made his last ditch attempt
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to surrender.
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Again, they wouldn't accept his white flag. At that point,
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he himself recognized that he's in an impasse.
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So, he called a referendum saying to the people of Greece,
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"Well, this is the ultimatum that the Troika is giving us.
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Yes or no?"
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I am very negatively surprised
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by today's decisions by the Greek government.
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They have apparently rejected
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the last proposals on the table from the three institutions
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and on that negative basis have proposed to parliament
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to have a referendum with, again,
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a negative advice to the Greek people.
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We will hear from the Greek
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minister today in our meeting,
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and then talk about future consequences.
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The purpose of what we are doing altogether is
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to actually restore the stability
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of the economy in Greece.
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The Greek people on fifth July will be asked
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to agree or not to agree with the institution's proposal.
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That leaves open the possibility of negotiations
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through the night and the day, and the night
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and the day ahead of us,
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that would improve the institution's proposal.
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In my view, the tragedy was that he called the referendum
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with the intention of losing it,
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whereas I fought that referendum
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because I wanted us to win it.
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Both of us shared the belief that we were going to lose it
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because the moment the referendum was called,
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the ATMs ran out of cash.
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The ECB closed down our banks in a bid through
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what I referred to at the time as the finance minister
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of Greece, poignantly
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and willfully, as a kind of financial terrorism.
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Because there's nothing more terroristic
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than closing down the ATMs of the people
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before they go on a vote, in order
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to extract from them the vote you want
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as a creditor of that nation.
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Now, what is terrorism? It's the pursuit
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of political agendas by means of inspiring fear in people,
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mind numbing fear. Well, the choice
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that we were given, accept a non-viable agreement
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or we'll shut your banks, can be classified as such.
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It was a pure case of financial terrorism.
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There was no economic reason
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to close down the banks except, effectively,
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to blackmail the people of Greece to vote in favour
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of the Troika deal, in favour of the Troika ultimatum.
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With the media and the television screens blasting out
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at people in their living rooms
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propaganda that if they vote "no" to the ultimatum
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of the Troika, Armageddon will hit, and demonising me
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and the government and anyone who opposes the Troika.
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We thought that this combination in the end, would
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push the percentage of voters who
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supported us below 50%.
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I thought this was inevitable. So did Tsípras.
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The difference was that he wanted this to happen,
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and I was struggling against this happening.
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Let me tell you something, which is probably unknown.
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Ever since we declared the referendum
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and we incensed our European partners, we had the most
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interesting proposals coming from Brussels.
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They won't be a "yes" verdict.
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I'm quite confident that the Greek people have had enough
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of extending and pretending,
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like the rest of the world, by the way.
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Just to nail you down a little bit more -
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Please do. So, if there's a "yes" vote come Monday night,
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you will not be finance minister.
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I will not. A banner demanding a "no" vote appeared from
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the window of the country's finance ministry.
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Greece's colourful,
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frequently controversial finance minister has been warned
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by many leaving figures in Europe that a "no" vote is a vote
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to leave the Euro.
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He resolutely rejects that. What you're actually doing here
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is taking your country out of the Euro.
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But you can't tell people because you know they wouldn't
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vote for it. No, no, absolutely
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not. Absolutely not.
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Our membership of the Euro is not at stake,
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whether there is a "yes" or
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or a "no", there will be an agreement on Monday.
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The head of the Eurogroup says that's fantasy,
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you're nowhere near an agreement. Who's right?
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He would say that, wouldn't he?
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He really desperately wants a "yes" vote so as to be able
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to go back to his constituency
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and to say that they managed to humiliate our government.
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This is just petty politics.
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It's really not good for Europe.
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It's obvious that we will see in the next day various
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forms of orchestrated attempts towards...
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economic aggression.
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It cannot be described in any other way,
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but I don't think that this will induce
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fear in the population.
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I think that it will induce protests.
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It's our time to say "no",
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because they want the whole our land.
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They want our freedom. They want our rights.
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They want our properties. They want our homeland.
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I think the Greek people will fight back.
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We're not populists. We're
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trying to do the right thing by the people.
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More a six day scramble than a campaign.
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But the passion being felt on both sides is without question.
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25,000, maybe more, in Athens Central Square
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for the final "no" rally.
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My hope was that a good referendum result,
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a courageous cry by the Greek people,
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would make it impossible for Alexis Tsípras, my comrade
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and Prime Minister, to betray them,
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to go back on them, to say no to them.
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I wanted to give the Greek people the
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opportunity to write history.
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In the end, 62% courageously,
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magnificently, voted against the Troika.
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It seems you can push people too far.
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A five-year-long depression, the impoverishment of a nation,
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and finally the Greeks have said "Όχι", "no." Enough.
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All the talk of the economic damage
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that would be caused, the Armageddon that was sure
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to follow, did not deter them.
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For five years, they've swallowed economic medicine
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that has made their condition worse.
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They're not going to take any more of it.
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That night, I allowed myself
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to enter the prime ministerial residence
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at around midnight
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once the result was out, convinced, it was
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mind over matter,
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if you want, that it can't be.
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Alexis must now honor that 62%.
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I walked into Maximus residence,
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the prime ministerial
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residence, together with Danae, my wife.
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It was like entering a freezer.
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Suddenly, I felt like a foreign body.
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I could tell that these were people in mourning,
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not in celebration.
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And I remember when the final result
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was flashed on the television screen in the main
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living area of the residence,
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that I jumped up and punched the air, and then turned around
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and realised I was the only one doing it in the room.
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Finally, when I entered his office, I could see
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that he was distraught,
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that he was mourning our victory.
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It was a given
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that the conversation would not end
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well. That night,
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my simple message to him was,
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"The people out there wrote history.
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Are we going to honour it?" And he started giving me all
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sorts of excuses.
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He even mentioned a word
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that in Greek history resonates awfully.
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The name is "Γουδή".
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Γουδή is a suburb of Athens where there was an execution
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of government ministers
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after 1922, effectively an allusion to being executed.
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I turned around and said, "Fantastic.
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Let them make our day.
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Imagine if we get executed for doing the right thing.
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We will become legends, Alexis."
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He offered
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me all sorts of different positions
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in the government. I turned them all down.
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And he said to me, "it's time to surrender."
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I disagreed, and I resigned.
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A shock announcement after a triumphant victory.
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Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis is stepping down.
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He's expected to remain in the Syriza party
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and is extremely popular at home.
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But as Tsípras's government
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and Eurozone leaders meet this week,
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both sides will be hoping a fresh face on the negotiating
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table will bring new impetus to bailout talks.
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Yanis Varoufakis resigned earlier this morning.
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Does that make it any more likely that Greece is going
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to be able to reach a deal with its European creditors?
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Yes. I believe European leaders
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and Eurogroup officials are relieved that
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Mr Varoufakis will no longer be representing Greece at the meetings.
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Varoufakis's origins in the center
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of politics convinced some in Syriza that he was,
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as they put it, a neoliberal,
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but they soon found out otherwise. In the negotiations,
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Varoufakis was the toughest in favour of a strong deal for Greece,
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and the most prepared of all the ministers to, if necessary,
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default on Greece's debts and exit the Eurozone.
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I never imagined what happened was going
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to happen. Any regrets
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as you look back on what happened during that period, as to
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how it was handled with creditors?
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Well, plenty, a myriad of regrets. We failed.
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Do you think you messed up at all?
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There were mistakes, of course.
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It takes incredible obstinacy to argue
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that one has not made mistakes, especially
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during a five-month period
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of extremely intense negotiations against creditors
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who were not particularly interested in having a rational
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bargaining session, a rational negotiation.
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We made mistakes. There's no doubt about that.
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And I hold myself responsible for a number of them.
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If you could do it all again, what would you change?
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There is an infinity of things that I would've changed.
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But what should I have done differently,
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given what I knew? When we were elected, the clash
262
00:20:30,875 --> 00:20:32,165
with the creditors would've happened
263
00:20:32,505 --> 00:20:36,165
by default within four weeks, which is
264
00:20:37,125 --> 00:20:38,165
a very short space of time
265
00:20:38,165 --> 00:20:39,885
once you're elected. You have four weeks
266
00:20:39,885 --> 00:20:41,205
before Armageddon hits.
267
00:20:43,425 --> 00:20:48,245
Now, my policy was to extend
268
00:20:48,275 --> 00:20:51,205
that period until June, at least,
269
00:20:51,385 --> 00:20:55,605
or July, to give ourselves another four months during which
270
00:20:56,465 --> 00:21:00,965
to try to establish the ground for
271
00:21:01,185 --> 00:21:03,405
an honorable compromise with the creditors.
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00:21:03,935 --> 00:21:06,965
These four months, instead of being four months during which
273
00:21:07,505 --> 00:21:08,645
the Prime Minister and myself
274
00:21:08,665 --> 00:21:11,405
and the rest of the war cabinet were getting more united,
275
00:21:12,275 --> 00:21:15,405
more prepared and bonded
276
00:21:16,605 --> 00:21:19,525
together in such a way as to maximise our chances
277
00:21:19,625 --> 00:21:21,325
of overcoming,
278
00:21:22,575 --> 00:21:24,725
those four months were used by
279
00:21:24,745 --> 00:21:28,365
Mrs. Merkel to pry Tsípras away from me,
280
00:21:30,425 --> 00:21:33,325
to co-opt him and to prepare him
281
00:21:34,065 --> 00:21:38,325
for the very humiliating process of gradual capitulation,
282
00:21:38,325 --> 00:21:41,365
which led to the surrender of that following summer.
283
00:21:45,785 --> 00:21:50,565
We had weapons that we could use. We didn't use them.
284
00:21:51,615 --> 00:21:54,245
There was a part of our debt, 27 billion,
285
00:21:54,245 --> 00:21:55,925
which is not a very large part of the debt,
286
00:21:55,925 --> 00:21:59,005
but it was a significant part of the debt that was parked
287
00:22:00,425 --> 00:22:02,765
on the books of the European Central Bank.
288
00:22:03,565 --> 00:22:08,185
But that 27 billion was Greek government debt
289
00:22:08,185 --> 00:22:11,065
written in Greek law, which means that I had the capacity
290
00:22:11,165 --> 00:22:14,545
as the Minister of Finance to restructure it, to postpone
291
00:22:14,565 --> 00:22:16,505
by 20 years its repayment.
292
00:22:17,205 --> 00:22:18,465
And then the ECB would have
293
00:22:18,465 --> 00:22:20,865
to contest my decision in a Greek court,
294
00:22:21,205 --> 00:22:22,825
and I would've won, I can assure.
295
00:22:22,825 --> 00:22:24,385
We should remind people that Greek courts
296
00:22:24,435 --> 00:22:25,625
don't act very fast.
297
00:22:26,365 --> 00:22:29,665
Yes, and that that's the one occasion where this delay
298
00:22:29,665 --> 00:22:31,745
in inefficiency would be a godsend.
299
00:22:33,285 --> 00:22:37,265
And the reason why this was an important weapon was
300
00:22:37,265 --> 00:22:40,985
because the only reason why the Euro still exists today is
301
00:22:40,985 --> 00:22:42,425
because Mario Draghi, the president
302
00:22:42,425 --> 00:22:44,465
of the European Central Bank, has saved the Euro,
303
00:22:44,885 --> 00:22:46,985
and he saved it through a kind
304
00:22:46,985 --> 00:22:49,345
of quantitative easing like you had here in Britain,
305
00:22:49,445 --> 00:22:53,025
you still have. The problem that Draghi faced was
306
00:22:53,025 --> 00:22:55,465
that the Central Bank of Germany, which belongs to the,
307
00:22:55,485 --> 00:22:58,665
is part and parcel of the European Central Bank,
308
00:23:00,165 --> 00:23:01,505
was constantly on his case,
309
00:23:01,875 --> 00:23:03,625
constantly trying to undermine him.
310
00:23:04,335 --> 00:23:07,065
They even took Draghi
311
00:23:07,065 --> 00:23:09,705
and the European Central Bank to the Constitutional Court
312
00:23:09,705 --> 00:23:13,705
of Germany in Karlsruhe, effectively asking the German judges,
313
00:23:13,845 --> 00:23:16,425
the German Central bank is asking the German judges
314
00:23:16,965 --> 00:23:19,545
to rule that the Central Bank, through quantitative easing,
315
00:23:20,045 --> 00:23:22,985
was effectively violating the German Constitution.
316
00:23:22,985 --> 00:23:26,385
And if the German judges agreed, effectively
317
00:23:26,385 --> 00:23:28,385
that would stop QE in Europe
318
00:23:28,485 --> 00:23:30,145
and that would end the Eurozone.
319
00:23:31,285 --> 00:23:32,505
Why am I telling you this?
320
00:23:32,975 --> 00:23:35,425
Because the Central Bank's defence
321
00:23:36,165 --> 00:23:38,745
in the Constitutional Court of Germany was, "Yes,
322
00:23:38,755 --> 00:23:40,825
we're buying debt against our charter
323
00:23:41,005 --> 00:23:44,345
but don't worry about it because it'll never be written down
324
00:23:44,805 --> 00:23:46,285
and it will never be restructured."
325
00:23:46,945 --> 00:23:48,965
So, if we restructured that small amount,
326
00:23:48,965 --> 00:23:53,205
relatively small amount, that effectively would be
327
00:23:53,785 --> 00:23:56,365
adding fuel to the case of the Bundesbank,
328
00:23:56,745 --> 00:23:59,165
and the whole of the Eurozone would be in jeopardy.
329
00:23:59,275 --> 00:24:00,965
That was a major weapon we had.
330
00:24:01,425 --> 00:24:03,445
And we had an agreement with the Prime Minister
331
00:24:03,545 --> 00:24:05,765
and with the inner cabinet, what I call the war cabinet,
332
00:24:05,955 --> 00:24:09,805
that we would use it the moment the war
333
00:24:09,805 --> 00:24:10,965
of attrition reached the stage
334
00:24:10,965 --> 00:24:12,525
where they would shut down our banking sector.
335
00:24:13,375 --> 00:24:15,275
But when they did shut down our banks,
336
00:24:15,415 --> 00:24:17,595
and I reminded my colleagues, my comrades,
337
00:24:17,625 --> 00:24:20,315
that we had agreed we would unleash that little weapon
338
00:24:20,315 --> 00:24:23,795
that we had, they vetoed it and they said no.
339
00:24:26,485 --> 00:24:28,995
After the surrender, what happened?
340
00:24:30,395 --> 00:24:34,435
A litany of small surrenders
341
00:24:35,095 --> 00:24:39,515
and abuses of logic against an already suffering population.
342
00:24:42,375 --> 00:24:44,155
In other words, in a country
343
00:24:44,155 --> 00:24:47,515
that was suffering a humanitarian hunger crisis,
344
00:24:48,835 --> 00:24:52,475
VAT on food was increasing, signed
345
00:24:52,495 --> 00:24:55,955
and sealed by a government of the radical left.
346
00:24:58,535 --> 00:25:02,115
The social democratic governments of the 1990s,
347
00:25:02,185 --> 00:25:05,435
they had introduced a small top-up payment
348
00:25:06,335 --> 00:25:08,115
for the minimum pension.
349
00:25:08,295 --> 00:25:11,515
So, pensioners receiving something like €200,
350
00:25:13,585 --> 00:25:15,715
well below the poverty level,
351
00:25:16,425 --> 00:25:18,715
were given a top-up of another €100.
352
00:25:20,235 --> 00:25:23,755
A government of the radical left signed a law
353
00:25:24,745 --> 00:25:25,795
that did away with it.
354
00:25:27,815 --> 00:25:32,115
The saving was minuscule for the budget of the government
355
00:25:32,815 --> 00:25:36,715
but the creditors were insistent on having
356
00:25:37,375 --> 00:25:39,435
the radical left government remove
357
00:25:39,435 --> 00:25:42,475
that €100 payment from the poorest of the poor
358
00:25:43,135 --> 00:25:44,155
and elderly people.
359
00:25:45,875 --> 00:25:49,515
Pensions had already been cut 12 times, by 42%,
360
00:25:50,055 --> 00:25:51,355
before 2015.
361
00:25:53,455 --> 00:25:55,395
So what did they do after they surrendered?
362
00:25:56,195 --> 00:25:58,635
A further 20% reduction.
363
00:26:00,055 --> 00:26:02,795
But the plot gets worse and thickens further.
364
00:26:04,775 --> 00:26:09,155
The whole property bundle of the Greek state,
365
00:26:09,525 --> 00:26:13,315
which includes archeological sites, national treasures,
366
00:26:14,585 --> 00:26:18,475
beaches, ports,
367
00:26:19,115 --> 00:26:20,475
airports, railways,
368
00:26:21,885 --> 00:26:24,235
every single public asset,
369
00:26:24,865 --> 00:26:27,875
it's including water, including electricity, mountains,
370
00:26:27,875 --> 00:26:31,675
even the Lycabettus Hill in Athens where I take my dog
371
00:26:31,675 --> 00:26:34,675
for a walk every morning, every asset
372
00:26:35,815 --> 00:26:36,995
was bundled together
373
00:26:37,975 --> 00:26:41,955
and inserted into something that they called "the Superfund."
374
00:26:43,265 --> 00:26:46,765
The Superfund has one objective,
375
00:26:48,565 --> 00:26:52,485
a fire sale. To sell everything, to sell as much of it
376
00:26:52,485 --> 00:26:54,325
as possible and take the money
377
00:26:54,325 --> 00:26:55,325
and give it to the creditors.
378
00:26:59,565 --> 00:27:01,885
I do not believe that in the history of humanity,
379
00:27:03,745 --> 00:27:07,845
you ended up with this kind of transfer
380
00:27:07,905 --> 00:27:12,685
of property rights from one nation to
381
00:27:13,555 --> 00:27:17,845
another entity without having first being defeated at war.
382
00:28:42,065 --> 00:28:43,245
It is part of human nature
383
00:28:44,305 --> 00:28:45,675
that when you've committed a crime,
384
00:28:46,425 --> 00:28:50,145
when you've damaged other people, it is quite natural,
385
00:28:50,205 --> 00:28:52,985
I understand that, that you would like to think
386
00:28:52,985 --> 00:28:53,985
that everybody's like you.
387
00:28:56,125 --> 00:28:58,105
And the moment you manage to convert someone
388
00:28:58,685 --> 00:28:59,865
who is against those acts
389
00:29:00,445 --> 00:29:02,465
to actually carry them out, you feel better.
390
00:29:03,285 --> 00:29:06,065
So, from the Troika's perspective,
391
00:29:07,125 --> 00:29:09,225
having a government being elected in Greece
392
00:29:09,565 --> 00:29:13,705
of the radical left, which they managed to turn...
393
00:29:14,335 --> 00:29:17,265
take somebody like Tsípras, who made his career
394
00:29:18,125 --> 00:29:19,545
by saying, "No,
395
00:29:19,545 --> 00:29:21,545
Mrs. Merkel, you're going to have to leave our land
396
00:29:21,845 --> 00:29:23,985
and you're going to have to allow us to restore our dignity."
397
00:29:25,045 --> 00:29:29,105
Go back, Merkel, go back.
398
00:29:30,445 --> 00:29:34,705
To have him in the end implement every single one
399
00:29:34,705 --> 00:29:37,905
of the policies that he was elected to oppose,
400
00:29:38,845 --> 00:29:41,165
and also doing a mea culpa
401
00:29:41,945 --> 00:29:46,165
and being the greatest apologist for that failed programme.
402
00:29:47,435 --> 00:29:51,445
That is a wet dream for every torturer,
403
00:29:52,105 --> 00:29:54,845
for every oppressor, for every tyrant.
404
00:30:02,185 --> 00:30:05,525
The Syriza government, once it broke with our contract
405
00:30:05,525 --> 00:30:09,285
with our voters, was bathed in glory by the media.
406
00:30:12,425 --> 00:30:17,325
The lure of that kind of credibility is the worst
407
00:30:18,255 --> 00:30:20,125
enemy of progressive politics.
408
00:30:24,505 --> 00:30:26,965
You were at the height of Greek power.
409
00:30:28,145 --> 00:30:32,245
Oh, not power. Maybe I was in the center of the frame
410
00:30:32,865 --> 00:30:35,925
but I was the finance minister of a bankrupt country.
411
00:30:35,925 --> 00:30:37,765
That doesn't make you particularly powerful, Amy,
412
00:30:38,185 --> 00:30:40,965
It makes you a target,
413
00:30:41,935 --> 00:30:43,605
especially a target of the establishment.
414
00:30:44,475 --> 00:30:48,335
So what awaited you in the coming years?
415
00:30:50,485 --> 00:30:52,215
Nothing angers
416
00:30:52,835 --> 00:30:55,615
and concentrates the mind of the oligarchy more than
417
00:30:55,615 --> 00:30:58,895
that feeling, which is completely unfamiliar to them,
418
00:30:59,315 --> 00:31:00,735
of not remaining in control.
419
00:31:01,805 --> 00:31:05,465
The 62% of the Greeks who voted against them, that "no"
420
00:31:06,205 --> 00:31:07,345
had to be discredited.
421
00:31:08,195 --> 00:31:12,465
Those people had to be made not only to regret
422
00:31:13,635 --> 00:31:16,945
their choices, but also to denounce it,
423
00:31:17,605 --> 00:31:19,785
and to denounce anyone that was associated with it.
424
00:31:21,365 --> 00:31:25,585
By a historical accident, I was chosen to be the person
425
00:31:26,055 --> 00:31:27,345
that the oligarchy targeted.
426
00:31:28,705 --> 00:31:32,505
I had to be brought down symbolically in order to represent
427
00:31:33,125 --> 00:31:36,825
the complete collapse of
428
00:31:36,825 --> 00:31:39,105
what they call themselves "the Greek Spring."
429
00:31:39,105 --> 00:31:41,665
You never lectured or hectored your colleagues in the Eurozone?
430
00:31:41,825 --> 00:31:42,825
Absolutely not. But I can tell
431
00:31:42,825 --> 00:31:43,385
you what I did.
432
00:31:43,565 --> 00:31:45,345
But a lot of people said you did. I'm exceptionally proud of what
433
00:31:45,345 --> 00:31:46,345
I did. A lot of people said you did.
434
00:31:46,345 --> 00:31:46,865
Well, that -
435
00:31:47,225 --> 00:31:49,065
A lot of people said you were the key
436
00:31:49,545 --> 00:31:51,265
obstacle - bring them here so that they can actually confront me.
437
00:31:51,585 --> 00:31:54,065
I need to confront my accusers, Tim.
438
00:31:54,255 --> 00:31:57,305
According to you, everybody's been lying about what took place.
439
00:31:57,505 --> 00:31:58,305
Bring somebody here in front of me -
440
00:31:58,305 --> 00:31:59,505
about what took place, except you.
441
00:31:59,645 --> 00:32:00,985
- bring somebody here in front of me.
442
00:32:01,015 --> 00:32:02,705
It's not credible, Yanis Varoufakis,
443
00:32:03,055 --> 00:32:05,705
that everybody has lied about this except you.
444
00:32:06,055 --> 00:32:08,505
Well, you are - that's stretching in credibility, isn't it?
445
00:32:08,505 --> 00:32:10,265
- you are interviewing me.
446
00:32:10,905 --> 00:32:12,945
I can only tell you what I experienced.
447
00:32:13,405 --> 00:32:15,305
"We would desist from doing anything
448
00:32:15,415 --> 00:32:17,385
that was against Greece's interest."
449
00:32:17,485 --> 00:32:20,385
That's what you wrote. And then you signed an agreement that you
450
00:32:20,385 --> 00:32:22,105
now say is -
451
00:32:22,445 --> 00:32:23,445
Tim, I didn't.
452
00:32:23,445 --> 00:32:24,585
I resigned on the ninth.
453
00:32:24,645 --> 00:32:26,625
But you said a "no" vote would strengthen your
454
00:32:26,635 --> 00:32:28,105
bargaining position.
455
00:32:28,625 --> 00:32:30,745
Yes, provided we still wanted to bargain.
456
00:32:30,745 --> 00:32:32,185
But it didn't. Because we didn't want to bargain
457
00:32:32,185 --> 00:32:34,705
after that. My prime minister decided
458
00:32:34,765 --> 00:32:36,785
to surrender on the night of the referendum.
459
00:32:38,615 --> 00:32:42,605
They were daily fake news stories that were
460
00:32:43,265 --> 00:32:47,885
so abundantly untrue that they confirmed brilliantly
461
00:32:48,145 --> 00:32:52,565
Joseph Goebbels' dictum that if you want awful propaganda,
462
00:32:53,225 --> 00:32:57,765
if you want a gigantic lie to stick, you have
463
00:32:57,845 --> 00:33:01,645
to make sure that the lie is out of proportion,
464
00:33:02,035 --> 00:33:04,485
that it is humongous in size
465
00:33:05,145 --> 00:33:07,365
and that you repeat it constantly.
466
00:33:08,395 --> 00:33:09,805
This is exactly what they did.
467
00:33:10,105 --> 00:33:12,845
But of course, this is nothing personal.
468
00:33:13,075 --> 00:33:15,365
This is what an oligarchy does when an
469
00:33:15,525 --> 00:33:16,605
oligarchy gets threatened.
470
00:33:16,735 --> 00:33:18,405
Thank you for your talk, Mr. Varoufakis,
471
00:33:18,545 --> 00:33:21,165
and I have to say content-wise,
472
00:33:21,445 --> 00:33:23,485
I sympathise with you very much
473
00:33:23,905 --> 00:33:27,965
but I read the reconstruction
474
00:33:27,965 --> 00:33:28,965
of the Guardian last week,
475
00:33:28,965 --> 00:33:30,125
which I'm sure you've read as well.
476
00:33:30,505 --> 00:33:32,285
I'd like to confront you with a few quotes,
477
00:33:32,345 --> 00:33:33,485
two very brief ones.
478
00:33:34,065 --> 00:33:36,805
The first one is, "Varoufakis had done nothing
479
00:33:36,905 --> 00:33:39,405
but exasperate his fellow finance ministers."
480
00:33:39,795 --> 00:33:41,205
It's true. And second of all...
481
00:33:50,915 --> 00:33:53,325
content-wise, you may or may not be right,
482
00:33:53,785 --> 00:33:56,565
but everyone just seems to hate you and -
483
00:33:56,565 --> 00:33:57,565
No, that's not true.
484
00:33:58,025 --> 00:34:00,365
Don't overdo it. Look...
485
00:34:00,505 --> 00:34:04,085
- excuse me, sir, isn't the reason that you lost the battle,
486
00:34:04,235 --> 00:34:07,135
the battle that was so important, isn't it
487
00:34:07,235 --> 00:34:09,255
not because it was totally impossible, but also
488
00:34:09,255 --> 00:34:11,655
because of the way you personally interacted
489
00:34:11,885 --> 00:34:13,655
with everyone, made only enemies
490
00:34:13,715 --> 00:34:15,775
and that was the reason that in the end they just weren't
491
00:34:15,805 --> 00:34:17,415
able and willing to listen to you?
492
00:34:17,675 --> 00:34:19,255
Wasn't that one of the huge problems?
493
00:34:19,255 --> 00:34:21,415
Well, the answer to this very question is very simple:
494
00:34:22,035 --> 00:34:25,615
No. I had very good relationships.
495
00:34:30,255 --> 00:34:32,375
I had a very good relationship personally with all of them,
496
00:34:32,385 --> 00:34:36,405
especially with Wolfgang Schäuble. With Dijsselbloem,
497
00:34:36,445 --> 00:34:39,725
I didn't have a relationship, either positive or negative.
498
00:34:40,305 --> 00:34:43,045
He confirms this. My relations
499
00:34:43,115 --> 00:34:46,325
with my interlocutors in Brussels, in Berlin, Paris,
500
00:34:47,995 --> 00:34:49,605
were at a personal level, very good,
501
00:34:50,225 --> 00:34:53,165
mostly. Especially with the German Finance Minister
502
00:34:53,165 --> 00:34:54,685
after their first one or two meetings,
503
00:34:54,915 --> 00:34:56,085
they became very cordial
504
00:34:56,085 --> 00:35:00,005
and very warm. With the French, perfect. With the head
505
00:35:00,005 --> 00:35:01,245
of the European Central Bank
506
00:35:01,425 --> 00:35:05,845
and the number two, Benoît Cœuré, splendid.
507
00:35:08,625 --> 00:35:11,565
The problem Greece's creditors had with me was
508
00:35:12,185 --> 00:35:14,125
one and very simple.
509
00:35:15,515 --> 00:35:18,725
They could see in me, someone that would rather die
510
00:35:19,555 --> 00:35:23,005
than sign on the dotted line of another
511
00:35:23,065 --> 00:35:24,765
extend-and-pretend bailout loan.
512
00:35:28,585 --> 00:35:30,645
The pressure which was inordinate,
513
00:35:30,835 --> 00:35:34,085
that was being asserted upon me, was just a walk in the park
514
00:35:34,565 --> 00:35:35,645
compared to what my dad went through.
515
00:35:37,825 --> 00:35:39,525
My dad ended up in a concentration camp
516
00:35:39,525 --> 00:35:41,525
because he was refusing to put his signature
517
00:35:41,615 --> 00:35:43,165
where he was being told to put it.
518
00:35:45,345 --> 00:35:47,445
So when I was in Brussels and in Frankfurt
519
00:35:47,445 --> 00:35:51,925
and in Berlin, and I was being confronted
520
00:35:51,945 --> 00:35:56,725
by this immense pressure, I caught myself on a couple
521
00:35:56,725 --> 00:35:58,765
of occasions thinking "if only they knew."
522
00:36:01,745 --> 00:36:05,845
Yes. So what kept you? Because it was hard.
523
00:36:06,665 --> 00:36:08,645
Yes. If you signed you could get
524
00:36:08,645 --> 00:36:09,645
out. Yes, I was,
525
00:36:09,645 --> 00:36:11,285
I would be free,
526
00:36:13,505 --> 00:36:15,885
but I never did it.
527
00:36:17,805 --> 00:36:21,525
I believed in my own spirit.
528
00:36:26,305 --> 00:36:27,685
Do you regret not signing?
529
00:36:28,545 --> 00:36:32,765
No, never. Never.
530
00:36:33,285 --> 00:36:36,205
I resisted. Never.
531
00:36:44,275 --> 00:36:46,765
They would have these big sacks that
532
00:36:46,875 --> 00:36:49,405
were originally used to carry potatoes,
533
00:36:50,385 --> 00:36:52,645
and they would put him in there together with a cat.
534
00:36:54,645 --> 00:36:57,685
A cat. Tied them and throw it in the sea.
535
00:36:58,535 --> 00:37:01,875
So the cat would be drowning and tear up his face.
536
00:37:03,375 --> 00:37:05,035
And then they would pull him out and say, "Will you sign?"
537
00:37:05,495 --> 00:37:08,395
"No." Do it again, with a cat.
538
00:37:09,745 --> 00:37:13,995
Some occasions, with snakes. They had to endure
539
00:37:15,895 --> 00:37:18,875
serial killings.
540
00:37:20,095 --> 00:37:23,475
So they would line them up on top of a cliff next
541
00:37:23,475 --> 00:37:27,595
to the sea, overlooking the waves
542
00:37:28,375 --> 00:37:30,755
and they would line ten of them up
543
00:37:31,015 --> 00:37:33,195
and they would go to the first one
544
00:37:33,195 --> 00:37:34,235
and say, "Okay, will you sign?"
545
00:37:34,235 --> 00:37:37,835
and say, "no." Shot in the head.
546
00:37:38,225 --> 00:37:41,595
Some would break and sign, the rest died.
547
00:37:42,285 --> 00:37:44,425
So, that was one of the favorite
548
00:37:45,565 --> 00:37:47,105
tortures,
549
00:37:47,235 --> 00:37:49,625
which is not torture, just murder.
550
00:37:51,335 --> 00:37:55,225
Do you have a message for the young people of today?
551
00:37:55,575 --> 00:37:57,745
Yes. They must try always.
552
00:37:58,605 --> 00:38:00,185
You must try hard.
553
00:38:14,405 --> 00:38:15,595
After the referendum,
554
00:38:16,175 --> 00:38:18,755
how did the public respond to the betrayal?
555
00:38:25,805 --> 00:38:29,535
Most people failed to recognize what a motivating force
556
00:38:30,245 --> 00:38:31,335
dignity can be
557
00:38:32,155 --> 00:38:34,775
and a project for restoring it.
558
00:38:36,725 --> 00:38:41,525
Unemployment, not being able to fend
559
00:38:41,545 --> 00:38:43,565
for oneself, to put food on the table,
560
00:38:43,625 --> 00:38:44,645
to look after their children,
561
00:38:45,295 --> 00:38:46,725
these are all scourges.
562
00:38:47,905 --> 00:38:52,545
But the worst effect that they have on the human soul is
563
00:38:52,545 --> 00:38:56,585
that they deny one a sense of dignity, a sense
564
00:38:56,645 --> 00:38:58,345
of autonomy, a sense of pride.
565
00:38:59,915 --> 00:39:02,655
The beauty of that
566
00:39:03,035 --> 00:39:06,055
Syntagma Square gathering on the 3rd of July in 2015
567
00:39:07,435 --> 00:39:09,535
was disenfranchised, powerless
568
00:39:09,595 --> 00:39:10,815
people got together
569
00:39:11,435 --> 00:39:14,975
and, by the act of getting together, they managed
570
00:39:14,995 --> 00:39:17,735
to feel dignity flooding back into their souls.
571
00:39:18,975 --> 00:39:20,235
So, when three days later,
572
00:39:20,615 --> 00:39:22,555
the prime minister overthrew the people's will
573
00:39:23,255 --> 00:39:27,555
and took that energy, that dignity restoration project,
574
00:39:28,015 --> 00:39:30,315
and shoved it into the dustbin of history
575
00:39:30,775 --> 00:39:35,075
by converting their courageous "no" into
576
00:39:35,135 --> 00:39:38,125
an undignified "yes",
577
00:39:39,225 --> 00:39:43,085
the very same people who were elated on
578
00:39:43,085 --> 00:39:44,685
that night were distraught.
579
00:39:45,365 --> 00:39:48,725
I could see people on street corners bumping into each other
580
00:39:49,585 --> 00:39:53,005
and without speaking, they would hug
581
00:39:53,225 --> 00:39:55,965
and cry as a result of the indignity
582
00:39:56,305 --> 00:39:57,445
of the moment of surrender.
583
00:39:59,045 --> 00:40:00,895
This contrast is going to stay with me forever.
584
00:40:01,395 --> 00:40:04,095
And if I'm motivated by anything, it is
585
00:40:04,195 --> 00:40:05,855
by the disappointment
586
00:40:05,955 --> 00:40:09,595
and rage at the dying of that particular light,
587
00:40:10,615 --> 00:40:13,035
and an urgency for restoring it.
44324
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