Greece's finance minister Yanis Varoufakis resigned his post on Monday morning having thanked the electorate for "the great capital bestowed upon our government by the splendid 'no' vote."
Varoufakis said it was clear he could not remain as Finance Minister even though his resignation pledge originally was only if there had been a ‘yes’ vote - he is ‘Minister no more’ according to his early morning blog.
The outspoken, controversial and ‘erratic Marxist’ Varoufakis said that he was well aware that many of his fellow eurogroup finance ministers had taken exception to his way of doing things and that his approach was not now the best as Greece enters negotiations with the ECB for more funding in order to avert a collapse of Greece’s financial system and economy.
Although Varoufakis did not name those suits who preferred meetings at which he was not present, he added that he would "wear the creditors' loathing with pride."
Varoufakis is well aware that Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras now needs a clear run at negotiations with a new, less punchy finance minister but Varoufakis hopes to be able to help Tsipras in some capacity.
Varoufakis' political sacrifice will not go unnoticed by Tsipras whose tactical skills now will be needed in cutting a better deal for Greece which is in danger of leaving the eurozone with a clear anti-austerity mandate from its people.
It now is likely that the economist Euclid Tsakalotos will be appointed the new finance minister, although this is unconfirmed as of 11.15 Monday morning.
A calmer character, Tsakalotos had been involved in negotiations with creditors after Varoufakis was shunned by his European colleagues.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel now is faced with a Greece with closed banks, cash machines running out of banknotes and little goodwill remaining for Greece from european governments which feel strung along and played by Greece's shape-shifting politicans.
While France and Italy have emphasised the importance of more talks, public opinion in Germany averse to helping the greeks out of a mess whcih is seen as self-inflicted. Vice-chancellor Sigmar Gabriel said yesterday that Tsipras "had torn down the last bridges of compromise with the eurozone," which at least states Germany's position despite not being helpful.
The European Central Bank’s governing council is holding a conference call today to decide if, and how long it should keep the Greek banks afloat.
Merkel is meeting French premier Francis Hollande in Paris today ahead of an emergency meeting of eurozone leaders in Brussels tomorrow.
Portugal’s Socialist Party believes Greece still can reach an agreement with its creditors and Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho reminded anyone who would listen that Greece still owes loads of money that it needs to pay back.
Portugal’s Left Bloc leader Catarina Martins claims that the Greek population chose democracy over blackmail - she would like Portugal do adopt the same approach as Greece despite Portugal’s current ability to stick to its repayment schedule and the liquidity of its banks.
If European leaders decide to deny Greece further aid, the great European experiment may well be over, its solidarity fractured and the ability of Europe to keep its member nations in the fold proved to be a fantasy.
A possible new currency for Greece is shown below; the 'Fakit'
