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Varoufakis - a clockwork bomb in Tsipras’ office

21 May 2015 / 13:05:32  GRReporter
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Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras left for Riga expecting to hear hopeful comments on the negotiations. However, inside the party and the government, he is facing several open fronts that are giving him the same headache. In addition, each day it is becoming increasingly clear that the Greek Prime Minister has to tackle two ticking time bombs, namely Minister of Finance Yanis Varoufakis and chairwoman of parliament Zoe Konstantopoulou.

Yesterday's statement by Varoufakis that he had recorded with a camera the recent meeting of the Eurogroup in Riga was the latest of a series of irrelevant statements made by him during his four months in office as Minister of Finance.

With dozens of interviews, lectures, tweets and photos Varoufakis has provoked countless negative comments in Greece and abroad, and created a negative attitude towards Greece in Europe. His continuing unsuccessful proposals to the creditors can hardly contribute towards a happy turn of the negotiations.

His idea to make housewives tax agents to control whether retailers issue receipts yesterday was followed by a defeat associated with the VAT increase. Varoufakis formally announced the new tax rates during a television interview but the creditors rejected his proposal only a few hours later.

The Greek Finance Minister is adamant that the government is negotiating and that he is in wonderful relations with his European colleagues but they do not share this view. Although Prime Minister Tsipras has limited his powers and increased those of his deputy Euclidis Tsakalotos, Varoufakis continues to be at the centre of publicity with his statements and actions.

This has led to today's disclosure of the influential American newspaper New York Times, according to which Yanis Varoufakis has recorded a video of the Eurogroup meeting in Riga.

So far, the European reactions to the publication are very guarded, but even the suspicion that one of the ministers has documented the talks with his colleagues might blow up the negotiations.

Alexis Tsipras’ another problem is chairwoman of parliament Zoe Konstantopoulou. Each passing day her conduct is proving that she is following her own plan, creating her own pole in SYRIZA. It is significant that Konstantopoulou often distinguishes herself from the actions and decisions of the government.

Her edifying behaviour towards the deputies during parliamentary sessions and her decision to establish a commission like the one to audit the public debt and to hold pompous press conferences and presentations are putting Alexis Tsipras in a difficult position.

In addition, according to citizens, Konstantopoulou had threatened an employee at a petrol station because he had refused to repair a tyre of her car, and a woman who had tried to shoot the incident. The chairwoman of parliament even wanted to check the smartphone of the woman, shouting at her that she had no right to film her.

The raid of anarchists in the courtyard of parliament followed, which she described as "their right to hold a protest." Then subsequently, Konstantopoulou refused to deposit the available funds of the parliament in an account with the Bank of Greece, although the government had obliged all state institutions to do so.

Zoe Konstantopoulou several times refused to vote in favour of the statutory regulations submitted by the government whereas in the meantime, her mother has become an interim chairperson of the radio and television supervisory board, and there are talks that she is going to stay in this post.

A lot of MPs from all parties accuse the chairwoman of parliament for her too moderate tone towards the Nazi Golden Dawn. According to parliamentary reporters, the definition that she is "the mother of the company of Golden Dawn" can often be heard in parliament lobbies.

The last episode of Zoe Konstantopoulou’s show happened yesterday, when she angrily started to quarrel with the police that they were not allowing the participants in the protest march to pass close to the parliament. She did not hesitate to scold the senior officer in front of the television cameras and to ask him to explain who had given him the orders he was observing.

Sources indicate that her relations with the circle of Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras are finally broken which became clear at last night's meeting of the political bureau of SYRIZA.

Under these conditions, it is not clear whether he will continue to support both Konstantopoulou and Varoufakis, mostly because their replacement will worsen the political climate and could lead to a series of implications. On the other hand, things at both internal fronts are looking so hot that they cannot remain open for a long time, Greek analysts say.

Tags: PoliticsGovernmentSYRIZAAlexis TsiprasYanis VaroufakisMinister of FinanceNegotiationsChairwoman of parliamentZoe Konstantopoulou
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