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Varoufakis told Tsipras he was ‘stupid’ to accept surplus goals

Varoufakis told Tsipras he was ‘stupid’ to accept surplus goals

Ex-finance minister Yanis Varoufakis has said he asked Alexis Tsipras whether he was “completely stupid” after the Greek prime minister agreed to a demand by international creditors in 2015 for large primary surpluses.

Speaking to Parapolitika radio on Thursday, Varoufakis, now leader of the Democracy in Europe Movement 2025 (DiEM25), said that when he learned that Tsipras had agreed to a primary surplus target of 3.5 percent of GDP, he confronted the premier:

“I told him: ‘Are you completely stupid? What did you get in return?’ And he said: 'Oh, did I do something stupid? It’s OK, we’ll take it back'.”

Varoufakis said he did not actually use the word “stupid,” but something harsher.

Varoufakis also attacked his successor at the Finance Ministry, Euclid Tsakalotos, branding him a “yes man” for the foreign lenders following the Greek bailout referendum in July 2015.

“I no longer recognize him,” he said.

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