In the Eye of the Storm: The Political Odyssey of Yanis Varoufakis

Episode Synopsis

Five months of struggle culminate in a Greek referendum on the Troika’s bail-out deal. Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras is all but ready to capitulate to the Troika, but Varoufakis believes a referendum victory is what is needed to reject the Troika’s deal. He declares publicly that he will resign should the vote go the other way. On 5th July 2015, 62 percent of the Greek public vote with Varoufakis to reject the deal – an historic act of defiance. Within hours, however, Tsipras signals he is going to capitulate to the Troika’s pressure and ignore the referendum result. For Varoufakis, this is the final straw: he resigns his ministerial post and exits parliament. The fallout from this decision reverberates through the subsequent years. Greece’s economy sinks more deeply into debt. National assets – airports, landmarks, parks, ports – are sold off to repay the nation’s creditors. Varoufakis faces a concerted campaign of character assassination from the Greek media.