Yanis Varoufakis says Greek prime minister Alexis Tsipras now has “negligible” negotiation power
Former Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis has doubted the ability of Greek prime minister Alexis Tsipras to deliver on key promises in his second term.
The economics professor, whose research focus is game theory, said Tsipras has limited scope to renegotiate the details of the agreement and barter for debt relief.
"Voters supported Tsipras because he appeared the most likely candidate to deliver on these promises. The trouble is, his capacity to do so is severely circumscribed by the agreement he has already signed," Varoufakis wrote in the Guardian.
"His power to negotiate is negligible given the agreement’s clear condition that the Greek government must 'agree with the [troika] on all actions relevant for the achievement of the objectives of the memorandum of understanding'".
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Tsipras was sworn in for a second term as prime minister this evening, after his Syriza party secured a surprisingly strong victory in the country's snap elections yesterday.
But Varoufakis added that the real winners of the elections are Greece's creditors, because it's now easier to get policies which support the third bailout programme through parliament.
"The greatest winner is the troika itself. During the past five years, troika-authored bills made it through parliament on ultra-slim majorities, giving their authors sleepless nights. Now, the bills necessary to prop up the third bailout will pass with comfortable majorities, as Syriza is committed to them," he wrote.