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Thursday, July 2, 2015

VAROUFAKIS: If Greece votes 'Yes' I'll quit

Yanis Varoufakis, Greece's embattled finance minister, just told Bloomberg TV that he'll no longer be in his job if the Greek people vote "Yes" in Sunday's bailout referendum. The government is pushing for a "No" vote, rejecting the deal that they helped to negotiating, saying that it isn't acceptable to the country.  Greece is in a state of crisis currently, with shuttered banks and limits of how much depositors can withdraw from cash machines. A "No" vote could push the country out of the eurozone entirely. Here's the key quote from Varoufakis's interview: "If there’s a yes vote then we will sign the agreement. We may have to reconfigure the government because some of us will not be able to stomach it. I will not sign another extend and pretend deal. But I will not scupper it." Asked directly if he'll be finance minister in the event of a "yes" vote, Varoufakis said "I will not. But I will help whoever is. There’s no sense in speculating now." But Varoufakis said he wouldn't leave Greece and would remain in Parliament whatever happens. Varoufakis was an academic at the University of Texas before joining government earlier this year. Varoufakis wouldn't say whether Tsipras will remain Prime Minister if their Syriza party loses Sunday's vote, saying: "When you go to battle, you don’t talk about defeat. We are going to win on Monday [when the result will be announced]." He added: "Syriza is going to be the major force in Greek politics whatever happens and we’re going to make sure this country is given the proper chance it deserves to become a first class not second class nation." He was pretty unequivocal about not wanting to sign another "extend and pretend" deal, as he called it. Asked if he'd sign up to a proposal that didn't include restructuring Greece's debts, Varoufakis said: "I'd rather cut my arm off." This is something the Syriza government wants, but much of the rest of Europe has refused so far.  And Varoufakis echoed Tsipras' comments yesterday that Sunday's referendum is definitely not a vote on whether Greece should stay in the euro. He said: "If you were asking me if you want Greece in the Euro I would say absolutely yes. The referendum isn’t about staying in the Euro it’s about how we do that."Join the conversation about this story » NOW WATCH: This 1998 supercar could auction for $15 million


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