European Crisis
CRASHED: Long version of my Observer review of Adam Tooze’s new book on the Crash of 2008
, 13/08/2018
Every so often humanity manages genuinely to surprise itself. Events to which we had previously assigned zero probability push us into what the ancient Greeks referred to as aporia: a state of intense bafflement urgently demanding a new model of the world we live in. The Crash of 2008 was such a moment. Suddenly, the […]
Why Germany neither can nor should pay more to save the eurozone – IFO Munich Seminar, 11 June 2018
, 17/07/2018
“I wanted a Germany that was hegemonic and efficient, not authoritarian and caught up in a European Ponzi scheme. That was in 2013.” Excerpt from the Munich Seminar. This CESifo group Munich seminar took place on June 11, 2018 in Ludwig-Maximilian University, in Munich, in the Grosse Aula of the Ludwig-Maximilian University. The euro crisis has highlighted […]
Profiles in Euro-Denial: The thwarted euro reforms & Greece’s permanent debt bondage – Project Syndicate op-ed
, 28/06/2018
ATHENS – Europe’s establishment is luxuriating in two recent announcements that would have been momentous even if they were only partly accurate: The end of Greece’s debt crisis, and a Franco-German accord to redesign the eurozone. Unfortunately, both reports offer fresh proof of the European Union establishment’s remarkable talent for never missing an opportunity to […]
The Italian crisis was the Left’s final warning – New Statesman op-ed, 6 June 2018
, 06/06/2018
The Left must adopt a new, credible EU policy agenda: It’s time to explain how the bloc, and the euro, could be run differently, democratically and sustainably Italy’s recent political crisis has at once confirmed the European Union’s unsustainability and the left’s impotence. That the euro is a currency system within which a country like Italy cannot […]
Interviewed by Vanity Fair Italia on the new 5S-Lega government – Read the original Q&A in English
, 05/06/2018
Vanity Fair’s interviewed me on the new Italian government (see here). The complete, original Q&A follows below: So, Italy has finally a government. New Premier is Giuseppe Conte, a technician who was never elected. Do you think this is acceptable? The new government has the consent of the majority of parliament. So, it is legitimate. […]
Interviewed by Il Fatto Quotidiano on developments in Italy, Europe and Greece. Here is the original Q&A in English
, 05/06/2018
Italian daily Il Fatto Quotidiano interviewed me (see here) regarding the latest developments in Italy, Europe and Greece. The original Q&A (in English) follows: Greece is about to exit from the notorious memorandum, the austerity plan signed with the troika. Public finance has improved at a high price for the population as we all know. […]
With his choice of prime minister, Italy’s president has gifted the far right – THE GUARDIAN
, 01/06/2018
Italy should be doing well. Unlike Britain, it exports considerably more to the rest of the world than it imports, while its government spends less(excluding interest payments) than the taxes it receives. And yet Italy is stagnating, its population in a state of revolt following two lost decades. While it is true that Italy is in serious need […]
Complete text of my interview with Corriere Della Sera’s Aldo Cazzullo (in English)
, 31/05/2018
Corriere Della Sera, the Italian daily, published today an interview that I gave to Aldo Cazzullo. For the published version (in Italian of course), you can visit the paper’s site here. However, the published text is a heavily reduced version of the exchange between Mr Cazzullo and myself. For those interested in the full exchange, see […]
Merkel’s Comeuppance is Europe’s – and the World’s – Misfortune – Project Syndicate op-ed
, 30/05/2018
JOHANNESBURG – One of the most common mistakes European leaders make in interpreting US President Donald Trump’s hostility toward America’s traditional allies, or the alacrity of his administration’s efforts to blow up the international order, is to assume that all of this is unprecedented. Nothing could be further from the truth. To continue reading for […]
The Open Letter sent to me in 2015 by Paolo Savona & Giulio Tremonti, two former Italian ministers, on reforms to the EU that they considered necessary
, 29/05/2018
Rome, July 24, 2015 To Yanis Varoufakis and Dominique Strauss-Khan Dear Yanis, dear Dominique, There is a place on earth that represents Europe’s very roots: Greece. Let us begin there. Athens, April 28, 1955. Albert Camus’ conference on “The future of Europe”.[1] On this occasion, participants agreed that the structural characteristics of European civilization are essentially […]
President Mattarella of Italy: From moral drift to tactical blunder
, 28/05/2018
I concede that there are issues over which I would welcome the Italian President’s use of constitutional powers that (in my humble opinion) he should not have.(*) One such issue is the outrageous policy of the Lega and the promise of its leader, Mr Salvini, to expel five hundred thousand migrants from Italy. Had President Mattarella refused […]
At the New School, discussing ‘Capitalism and the Present Moment in History’ with Will Milberg – 7 MAY 2018
, 25/05/2018
On the day of this discussion/presentation, students and staff were occupying part of the New School as part of a twin labour dispute: one regarding the cafeteria staff facing dismissal and partial re-employment under worse terns and a second dispute concerning low pay and lack of rights for student workers-TAs. It is in this context […]
On Trump’s tariffs and why we should never trust ‘economic experts’ – interviewed by Scott Gamm for TheStreet
, 19/05/2018
Click photo above or here for the video discussing Trump’s trade tariff strategy Click photo above or here for the video regarding the so-called ‘economic experts’
Want to know why the recent ECB stress tests of the Greek banks had to be fraudulent? – Video interview on TheStreet
, 17/05/2018
To watch the video click on the photo above or click here.
THE NATION: Yanis Varoufakis’s vision for a more democratic Europe – a review of ‘Adults in the Room’, ‘Talking to My Daughter About The Economy’ & ‘And the Weak Suffer What They Must?’ by Atossa Araxia Abrahamian
, 15/05/2018
The idea of a unified Europe didn’t always elicit the current mixture of exasperation, boredom, and rage, in politicians and ordinary people alike. In fact, there was a time when the European Union seemed like a great initiative, especially on a continent ravaged first by two hot wars, then broken in half by a cold […]
Our new European party can unite Britain’s feuding Remainers and Leavers – by Yanis Varoufakis, Benoit Hamon (Generation-s), Luigi de Magistris (mayor of Naples), Rasmus Nordqvist (Alternativet); Rui Tavares, former MEP from Portugal (Livre); & Agnieszka Dziemianowicz-Bąk (Razem), op-ed in The Guardian
, 15/04/2018
The European Union and the UK are on a cliff edge. Left to its Brussels-based establishment, the EU continues to turn against most of its people who, as a consequence, turn against Brussels. Meanwhile, facing an immensely damaging Brexit, the people of Britain are becoming despondent. This is the moment for British and continental progressives to forge […]
LA STAMPA interview on the Italian election result (the original answers in English) – 9 MAR 2018
, 09/03/2018
In this interview LA STAMPA sought my views on the outcome of the Italian elections. My original answers (in English) appear below. The gist? Italy’s election result is yet another example of the political centre’s implosion as a result of the establishment’s perseverance with failed, austerity-based policies, pretending that they were the solution to our […]
Was defeat inevitable? A review of Adam Tooze’s meta-review of ‘Adults in the Room’ [1]
, 07/03/2018
To read one excellent review of one’s book is a joy. To read an engaging and deeply thoughtful review of different categories of reviews of one’s book is a rare privilege. Normally, I should have left matters there, enjoying the diversity of opinion that Adults in the Room engendered. But this is not an academic book […]
The Magnificent Oomph: Aiming for Norway Plus to secure a progressive Brexit – transcript of speech
, 31/01/2018
Courtesy of opendemocracy.net, here is the transcript of my speech of 29th January at the House of Commons. The theme? How should Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour Party secure a progressive Brexit consistent with a socialist agenda for the UK but also with DiEM25’s campaign to democratise Europe. The main reason I am here, I believe – […]
“La crisis se está haciendo más profunda, más tóxica, más permanente” (“The crisis is getting deeper, more toxic, more permanent”) – El Diario interview, 13/1/2018 (including the original English text of the interview)
, 15/01/2018
“Europa es exactamente lo opuesto a democracia”, asegura el ex ministro griego de Finanzas y cofundador de DIEM25, que ajusta cuentas con los protagonistas de la crisis del euro en “Comportarse como adultos“ “El Gobierno español actuó firmemente en Bruselas contra los intereses de la inmensa mayoría de los españoles” “El bitcoin es una espléndida burbuja […]
Varoufakis: “No se engañen, la crisis sigue ahí: el euro corre peligro” – El Pais, 2/1/2018
, 02/01/2018
El exministro de Finanzas griego ha publicado un libro sobre las entretelas de la política europea Yanis Varoufakis, exministro de Finanzas de Grecia. Barcelona, 9 de noviembre de 2017 ALBERT GARCIA Polémico. Atractivo. Brillante. Controvertido. Los seis meses de Yanis Varoufakis(Atenas, 1961) al frente del Ministerio de Finanzas de Grecia lo convirtieron en una celebridad global, en una suerte […]