George Osborne “inept” chancellor, says Yanis Varoufakis

By
Lucy Smith
-

Former Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis has labelled George Osborne as a “particularly inept chancellor”, who will “go down in history” for his poor fiscal policy.

Varoufakis, who led Greece through their bailout negotiations with the EU after their economy hit rock bottom, told BBC Radio 4 on Wednesday that Osborne “created fiscal targets that entrapped him”, and that his attempts at austerity were “doomed to failure”.

He argued that Osborne’s replacement, Philip Hammond, should raise public spending in order to stimulate the UK economy. He said there was an estimated £900 billion “trapped doing nothing” in financial institutions, adding that it was clear Hammond “will spend more”.

Yanis Varoufakis held the role of Greek finance minister for several months last year, notably during the negotiations for another bailout of the Greek economy. He is well-known for his unconventional, confrontational approach to diplomacy, and his arguable dislike of compromise on the Greek side.

Advertisement

Varoufakis, who was educated at the Universities of Essex and Birmingham, said he had met “frequently” with shadow chancellor John McDonnell, who announced his economic plan for the shadow treasury this week.

“We have discussed what Britain needs on a large number of occasions and we are in full agreement that there is one word that encapsulates that which Britain is missing… and would make all the difference… and that is investment”, he said.

According to Varoufakis, Britain’s exit from the EU may encourage other EU states to do the same. Problems in the German and Italian banking systems are a big threat to the Eurozone’s stability, he said, with many other countries looking to follow the UK’s lead and exit the European Union.

However, Varoufakis’ comments have been lambasted on Twitter, with many comparing the scale of British public debt to the Greek one.