Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis resigned Monday. His resignation came a day after Greek voters rejected a demand by international lenders for new financial reforms in the country. The lenders promised economic aid to Greece if the voters approved, and the government carried out, the reforms.
The finance minister’s decision was a surprise, because he had said earlier that he would resign only if the Greek people voted to accept the lenders’ demands. Mr. Varoufakis has often clashed with foreign creditors over the past few months. A few days ago, he accused the European Union of “terrorism” because he believed it was trying to frighten Greek voters into accepting the EU’s terms. On Monday he said he believed his resignation could help reach an agreement with the country’s lenders.
On Sunday, 61 percent of voters rejected warnings from leaders that ignoring the terms could force the country from the 19-nation union that uses the euro. Nearly 10 million people were registered to vote in the special election. Officials say more than 62 percent actually voted.
Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras says the government is ready to return to negotiations with Greece’s creditors. He says the election results will give him the ability to negotiate a better deal for his country.
However, officials in Germany, Europe’s largest economy, are not pleased with the election results. A spokesman for Prime Minister Angela Merkel said that because of the results of the vote on Sunday “by Greek citizens, there is no basis to enter into negotiations on a new aid program.” A German Finance Ministry spokesman said “I can see no reason to enter into discussions.”
Across Europe, stock prices fell when financial markets opened Monday, but quickly recovered. Observers blamed the drop on the vote in Greece. In Asia, Japan’s leading measure of stock prices lost more than two percent at the close of trading. Hong Kong’s leading stock measure dropped more than three percent. Stock prices were also down in South Korea, Australia and New Zealand. However, prices in Mainland China showed gains Monday after recent severe losses.
