Saturday, March 11, 2023, 1:55 p.m.
Former Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis was attacked last night by a group of individuals while he was having dinner in a restaurant in the central Athenian neighborhood of Exarchia with several European colleagues from his Democracy in Europe 2025 Movement.
Varoufakis is one of the best-known faces of the resistance of the country’s then government in 2015 to accept, in the midst of an economic crisis, the conditions of the troika, a group of economic powers that includes the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund, to sign a new rescue in exchange for austerity measures, which in his opinion, “would be a condemnation for the Greek people.”
According to a statement issued by the political formation to which he belongs, “a small group of thugs assaulted the place” and accused the former minister of having complied with the wishes of the aforementioned troika. They point out that although Varoufakis tried to calm the situation by engaging in a conversation with the attackers, they responded “with violence.” “They began to savagely attack him while they were recording the scene,” they specify.
On the other hand, the former minister has pointed out on his Twitter account that the individuals “were hired thugs who invoked the lie that he had sold me to the troika.” He also clarified that the assailants, who were masked at the time the altercation occurred, “did not appear to belong to any anarchist or other political group.”
Representatives of the Greek political scene have condemned the events. Katerina Sakellaropoulou, president of the country, has pointed out that “violence has no place in our democracy and it is everyone’s responsibility to protect our political culture.”
#Greek #Finance #Minister #Yanis #Varoufakis #attacked #dining #Athens #restaurant