The
“special place in hell” that EU Council President Donald Tusk
says is reserved for Brexiteers is not that different to the one for
those who devised the EU monetary union, ex-Greek finance minister
Yanis Varoufakis believes.
Replying
to the controversial metaphor used by Tusk on Wednesday, the
no-nonsense Greek economist turned it against the EU Council
president by reminding him of the failings of the European monetary
union.
Probably very similar to the place reserved for those who designed a monetary union without a proper banking union and, once the banking crisis hit, transferred cynically the bankers' gigantic losses onto the shoulders of the weakest taxpayers.— Yanis Varoufakis (@yanisvaroufakis) February 7, 2019
Critics
have slammed the EU monetary union, of which the eurozone is a part,
for forcing austerity-driven budgets on member states – and
Varoufakis has had first-hand experience in this regard. As Greek
finance minister in 2015, he tried to push back against a massive EU
bailout plan, which was heralded as a lifeline for the country’s
economy, which had been wrecked by the 2008 financial crisis.
While it
stabilized the Greek economy, the bailout left it 25 percent smaller
than when the crisis started, and it was staring at several decades
of harsh austerity in order to repay its debts. Now, three-quarters
of Greeks think the plan harmed their country.
On
Wednesday, Tusk’s “special place in hell” comment attacked
“those who promoted Brexit without even a sketch of a plan how to
carry it safely” both in an address to reporters in Brussels and in
a tweet.
However,
according to Varoufakis’ tongue-in-cheek take on the afterlife,
Tusk’s own colleagues could end up roasting next to the Brexiteers,
as the EU Council effectively signs off on members states’ budgets.
Source:
The treatment of Greece was one of the reasons I voted to leave the EU.— Ruth Watkins (@pengraiggoch) February 7, 2019
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