No one can accuse Yanis Varoufakis being a staunch supporter of the European Union (EU).
When a year ago the Greek then minister Finance led negotiations between his country and creditors to avoid its exit from the euro zone and an economic catastrophe, Varoufakis not spared criticism against the European institutions .
But in politics one year is a long time.
And for Varoufakis, priorities have changed , as is clear in a conversation with Martha Kearney BBC, under the Hay literary festival on-Wye in Wales, UK, held between 26 May and 5 June.
Rather than criticize, now Varoufakis asks the salvation of the U E
Dark times
the charismatic former official reiterated his criticism of the EU institutions.
the European Union is like Hotel California. You can make the checkout when you want, but you can never go
Yanis Varoufakis
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However warns of increased risk. the collapse of the same organization that, in his view, can be accelerated if UK vote for his retirement of the same in the referendum of June 23.
The colloquially called Brexit, says the economist, would leave Europe at the gates of a Great Depression and a dark political landscape in the style of the 1930s , the era that produced fascism and eventually led to the Second War World
by the same token, Varoufakis arrives with a surprise request for a critical leftist rulers from Brussels. advises Britons to vote in favor of their stay in the U E .
No veto
In his conversation with the BBC, Varoufakis not hesitate to justify this apparent contradiction.
“You have a dysfunctional family does not mean that we should destroy it. need therapy, not a divorce “.
” At a more practical level, the UK can not leave the European Union. They can vote to leave the European Union but can not really go. ”
He explains: “What happens is that will remain governed by EU regulations on labor, environmental, markets and other topics Indeed, most of its legislation will be. determined by Brussels, but if they withdraw, the British will not be there to have an opinion or a veto power. “
” the European Union is like the California Hotel (song American band Eagles) . you can make the checkout whenever you want, but you can never leave. “
a Great Depression
Varoufakis not stop warn of the risks facing the economy and European policy on behalf of the instability experienced by institutions on the continent.
This situation, in your opinion, can be exacerbated if the UK is removed.
“The European Union can not be taken for granted. It is disintegrating. The problem is that if it collapses, and if the decay is accelerated by the Brexit, we will have a new Great depression in Europe who consume Great independent Britain if they vote to stay outside or inside. “
” I want Britain to stay , because UK is a significant ally for the rest of us in Europe that we are trying to put our house in order “.
Trump: a new Reagan
But the turbulence afflicting Europe is also manifested in the United States, where the nomination of Donald Trump’s presidential candidacy for the Republican Party has shaken the political foundations of the nation.
Varoufakis again surprises those who expect, with his leftist credentials, contemplates with horror the prospect of seeing Trump at the White House.
“This reminds me of the last months of 1980, when Ronald Reagan was about to become president of the United States. If you read what Reagan said then, the months before his inauguration, was a man who was really scary. ”
To which he adds. “Sometimes I like to think that Trump could be a new Ronald Reagan , which is transformed once take possession of his office”
Varoufakis points to the hope of a moderation magnate if he were to be elected, as was the case with Reagan over three decades ago.
“Reagan was, on paper, a monetarist who would applying a scorched earth policy with austerity. But in fact, it was the opposite. the president who most used public spending to growth in the United States since the time of Franklin Delano Roosevelt “. .
“Reagan had said he was going to bomb Russia but came up with a reasonable plan for nuclear disarmament with the then Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev”
Then Varoufakis explains: “No However, these are thoughts that only allow me after taking more than a couple of glasses of wine. “
“I do not criticize banks”
Inevitably the conversation with Varoufakis touches which was the peak of his short stay in the Greek government: his confrontation with creditors when in 2015 unsuccessfully sought a renegotiation of Greek debt
his bitterest not save memories against financial institutions. , the same as pressing for no debt forgiveness.
“a German banks not they criticize. they did what they had to do. is the nature of the beast ” .
“ banks are not moral entities . we can not expect them to be ethical guardians of society. they only maximize their income.”
to Varoufakis, “rhetoric was believed” the attitude of governments, both debtor countries and creditors, is to be audited in particular what happened in the years before the collapse of 2008-2009, when massive debt of nations like Greece allowed.
“The moral responsibility lies with the government, regulatory bodies. But all failed alike, not s or what the Greeks “.
” their own rhetoric was believed. the then British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said he had removed the cycle of booms and busts that had characterized the economy in previous years. “
in the early 2000s,” the then head of the US central bank Ben Bernanke said that the economy was experiencing ‘great moderation’, while going on a tsunami of flows destabilizing financial markets, completely unsustainable “.
” They mantra financiers is believed. They were now facing a new paradigm. ”
“Some like (Nobel laureate in economics) Joseph Stiglitz and we warned then that this was going to be a great collapse, depression. I said then that I was a relic of the past, which had now a paradigm where the risk had no risk. ”
“Have you heard of that? That the financial sector had managed to spread the risk of the economy. Politicians love to hear narratives consistent with its short-term objectives . That’s where failed “.
Democracy after the crisis
Varoufakis, now retired from power, working on the organization of a movement, DIEM-25, which warns about the threat of a repeat in Europe what happened during the last major financial crisis. the 1930s
“Several of us have started a movement for the democracy in Europe. We must create a wave of democracy in Europe succeed where our predecessors failed in 1930, the year after the financial crisis of 1929 “.
“We must create a broad alliance of Democrats left or right to stop this descent into a new abyss like the 1930s”.
“We do not believe that we be optimistic, but must have hope “.
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