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The statements of Finance Minister Yannis Varoufakis about how Greece will try to solve the problem of its huge sovereign debt have triggered the first tremors in the coalition government. After the finance minister’s ‘clarifying’ message, which hardly changed anything of substance from his initial statements today, cabinet members flooded the media with utterances with one single purpose: to have the electorate convinced that the ‘debt haircut’ remains the top priority for the cabinet.

GRReporter has already informed its readers about the statements made by government spokesman Gabriel Sakelaridis. They were followed by a word from of the deputy minister of social security, Dimitris Stratoulis, who told Mega TV: "Nothing has changed. We are working towards writing off most of the debt, because this is the only way for people to take a breath of fresh air."

According to him, the words of Finance Minister Varoufakis quoted in the Financial Times publication do not reflect the political will of the government. "We insist on writing off the debt so that it becomes sustainable," stressed Stratoulis.

For its part, the spokeswoman of SYRIZA’s coalition partner, the Independent Greeks, told radio Parapolitika that "for the first time, negotiations are being held with partners that aim to satisfy the interests of Greece and the Greek people."

Marina Chrissoveloni added that the Independent Greeks insist on setting up an independent institution designed to audit the public debt.

She referred to the statement of the party leader and defence minister, Panos Kamenos, given to another media, in which he had said that the Independent Greeks have not given up on their principles and insist on writing off the debt.