Finance minister’s rhetoric, arguing that troika is instilling fear in people, comes as Greece prepares to vote on country’s future in eurozone

This article is more than 5 years old

This article is more than 5 years old

Yanis Varoufakis, the Greek finance minister, has accused the country’s creditors of terrorism, in an interview published on Saturday.

“What they’re doing with Greece has a name: terrorism,” Varoufakis told Spain’s El Mundo. “What Brussels and the troika want today is for the yes [vote] to win so they could humiliate the Greeks. Why did they force us to close the banks? To instil fear in people. And spreading fear is called terrorism.”

Greek debt crisis: Yanis Varoufakis accuses Europe of terrorism - live Read more

The escalation of his rhetoric comes as Greece prepares to vote on Sunday in the referendum that could decide the country’s continued membership of the eurozone.

The Greek economy is on the brink of collapse after the capital controls imposed before the referendum left the country with shortages of food and drugs, the tourist industry facing a wave of cancellations and banks with barely enough money to survive the weekend.



Holding political rallies and publishing new opinion polls are banned 24 hours before the vote, the result of which remains too close to call.

Polls have narrowed in recent days after warnings from the European commission and Greece’s eurozone partners that a no vote would lead to Greece’s ejection from the single currency.

A GPO poll put the yes voters on 44.1% and no on 43.7%, while an Alco survey found 44.5% would vote yes, with 43.9% intending to vote no.

Many voters have switched to the yes camp since capital controls were imposed this week limiting daily cash machine withdrawals to just €60. Greeks queued once again on Saturday morning to make withdrawals as fears mounted about the state of the country’s economy.

Greek economy close to collapse as food and medicine run short Read more

Banks said they had a €1bn cash buffer to see them through the weekend – equal to just €90 (£64) a head for Greece’s 11 million people. However, they will need immediate help from the European Central Bank on Monday whatever the result of the referendum.

Alexis Tsipras, the Greek prime minister, was given a rapturous reception at a rally in Syntagma Square on Friday night, but the survival of his Syriza-led government is in doubt if Greeks vote yes.

Political analyst George Sefertzis said: “A no win would be a Pyrrhic victory for the Greek government. You can’t survive on Pyrrhic victories because you need funds to keep the country running.”



Varoufakis, who has promised to resign if Greeks vote yes on Sunday, also denied a Financial Times report suggesting that Greek savers could lose 30% of any savings above €8,000. Such a move would be intended to shore up the country’s banking system. It would be similar to what happened in Cyprus in 2013, when savers with more than €100,000 in uninsured accounts had a “haircut” imposed.

Louka Katseli, the head of Greece’s banking association, said the report was completely baseless and that the idea belonged “only in the sphere of fantasy”.

Varoufakis has said that banks will reopen on Tuesday if a new deal is agreed quickly. However, some doubt that will be possible.

Lena Antoniou, who is 35 and has two children, said: “I’ve heard shops are running out of flour, sugar and salt. I’m really worried – how will we manage if we can’t get to our money and there’s no food to buy?”

Pensioners, many of whom do not have debit cards, have been hit particularly hard by the bank closures. They have been allowed to make just one over-the-counter withdrawal of €120 this week.

Meanwhile, a senior EU official has told the Guardian that debt relief was not on the table during negotiations to extend Greece’s existing bailout programme because it was “politically highly toxic for many eurozone member states”.

However, the EU official believes that the debate over debt relief was irrelevant because creditors need assurances that Greece did not want to provide.