Greece’s celebrity Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis is riding on the crest of unbridled support following an attack against him and his wife during dinner on Wednesday at notorious Exarheia – a hubbub for anarchist thoughts and apparently no place for an “erratic Marxist”. After a week of being called a time waster, amateur and gambler by EU diplomats, ‘demoted’ within his own party and then assaulted by hoodlums, it is obvious that Varoufakis is here to stay regardless of whether he is in the center of political negotiations for Greece’s debt or on the sidelines.

Support for the radical lefty rose as soon as the news of its attack did the rounds on the international media, trailblazing and trending through social networks. Even before the video footage, Varoufakis released a written statement to journalists refering to the event in great detail. He exploited the attack to promote his own calm and personal stand against anti-state activists at a time when sit-ins and occupations are a concern within the Radical Left Coalition (SYRIZA).

The footage showed the anarchists telling Varoufakis to leave ‘their turf’ and they accused him of being one “who has never been hungry”. They suggested he go for a walk to “Pedion tou Areos park to see what’s happening” at the largest green area of Greece that is now a haven for the homeless.

Varoufakis then responded, admitting that he was a “foreign body” in the government. “Have you seen what they’ve been saying about me over the last two days? I’m a foreign body in the system and sooner or later will get spat out,” he said. “I lived in Exarhia (from 2000-2006) and this is where I belong. I’ll be back.” In fact he stated that he is more certain that he’ll return to Exarhia than he is that he’ll remain Finance Minister after June.