Reuters reveals Juncker’s intervention to Tsipras over … Yanis

European Commission President urges Tsipras to tone Greek Minister of Finance down

“Yanis Varoufakis is becoming part of Greece’s debt problem rather than the solution,” is how Reuters describes the admittedly flamboyant — and often distracting — Greek finance minister.

The report further refers to Varoufakis and how many Greeks regard their new finance minister as a “breath of fresh air”, a man who has told his colleagues in the Eurogroup a few “truths” about the futility of forcing austerity policies on an economy that has endured a depression of five years.

According to Reuters, Varoufakis and his readiness to break the conventions of European discourse has caused consternation, among finance chiefs and bureaucrats who dominate the Eurogroup.

The report continues by describing the “erratic Marxist”, as Varoufakis calls himself, his two month-tenure as minister and how he managed in such a short time to alienate many interlocutors in Berlin, Brussels and Frankfurt and his risk becoming a liability as Greece struggles to avert bankruptcy and stay in the euro zone.

However, the report stresses that polls prove that the government still has high support in negotiations, despite the fact that has achieved little or nothing.

Furthermore, Reuters refers to the relations between Varoufakis and his German counterpart Wolfgang Schauble, which have deteriorated sharply in recent weeks and also cites European official’s statement, supporting that European Commission President Jean Claude Juncker urged PM Alexis Tsipras to “tone down” the Greek Minister of Finance.