The measure was proposed by Greece to prevent funds leaving the local banking system.
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The system would be “euro-denominated, but at the drop of a hat it could be converted into a new drachma”, the former finance minister, Yanis Varoufakis, said on the recording of a July 16 interview with an influential investment organization.
Varoufakis said once the significant quit Syriza party grabbed to strength he’d been licensed by Tsipras to try the look before the basic election in January And they insisted that his activities were appropriate, inside the interest that was public and geared toward preserving the united states within the 19-state eurozone.
He adds that the plan would have eventually provided a “fiscally responsible increase in government liquidity and a quicker path back to the money markets to which governments, such as Greece’s had lost access”, and could have been used as a smartphone app and designated cards.
The attack on Varoufakis also extends to Syriza’s Left Platform, which belatedly made a token display of opposing Tsipras’ July 13 agreement to implement the demands of the troika, and his betrayal of the overwhelming vote opposing austerity in the July 5 referendum.
Varoufakis said Greece is a pawn in a much larger chess game and the real message is being sent to France, which is “trying to buy time to reduce their deficit” and keep creditors happy, who he said “lack coordination”.
Greece’s ruling coalition has split over the country’s bailout deal with creditors. In two votes earlier this month on so-called prior actions required for negotiations to begin, about a quarter of his Syriza-party lawmakers defected, stripping the premier of his parliamentary majority and forcing him to rely on opposition support.
The main conservative opposition, New Democracy, accused Varoufakis of “dark methods that threaten democracy” and summoned Tsipras to brief parliament. Early elections now seem likely after the bailout deal is signed.
Technical experts from the European Central Bank, the global Monetary Fund, the European Stability Mechanism and the European Commission are in Athens to negotiate with their Greek counterparts.
Varoufakis confirmed the authenticity of the recording, which was released by the briefing organizers, London-based Official Monetary and Financial Institutions Forum.
A European official said the process for the reopening of the market was delayed due to fears that it could result in a crash, as well as continued uncertainty about Greece’s political future and that of its banks. Some reports claim Mr. Varoufakis headed a five member team to carry out the Plan B.
In essence, the plan, which Tsipras ultimately blocked, would have created a “functioning parallel system” to give the government “some breathing space”.
By “unorthodox”, he means, reportedly, “authorizing a hacking”.
Any hope of a fresh start in fraught relations between Greece’s leftist government, purged of its most radical members, and the institutions representing its creditors, appeared to be dashed by the flurry of assertions and rebuttals.
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Information for this article was contributed by Niki Kitsantonis, Liz Alderman and James Kanter of The New York Times.
