Crucial “Brussels Group” talks between Athens and its institutional lenders were underway abroad, while anxious radical leftist ministers were left in Athens, yet the question remained: where was Yanis over the weekend?
The Yanis in question, beyond the obvious one “n” in the first name, is brash Greek FinMin Yanis Varoufakis. And the question of his whereabouts was answered by … Bild. The tabloid’s correspondent and photo-reporter in Greece followed Varoufakis and wife Danae Stratou on a ferry boat headed for the Saronic Gulf island of Aegina, where the now internationally well-known couple retains a stylish vacation home.
The weekend getaway comes on the heels of a Proto Thema report pointing to a “rift” between the self-described “erratic Marxist” and the Tsipras government, particularly after last week’s fiasco in Riga, during the informal Eurogroup meeting there.
Given that the weather was perfect, the destination close to Athens – an hour and a half by ferry boat – and with a May Day three-day weekend in full swing, the Varoufakis couple was in “relax mode”. Back in Athens, however, Alternate FM Eucleid Tsakalotos was meeting with PM Alexis Tsipras, a move that shows that the former has essentially bypassed Varoufakis as the SYRIZA government’s chief negotiator with EC-ECB-IMF representatives.
Varoufakis made no statement of substance to the Bild reporter, while all sailed to the island.

Proto Thema’s information and sources state that a “break” between Tsipras and Varoufakis is irrevocable, with the question now centering on who will lead the Greek delegation in upcoming Eurogroup session. Additionally, Proto Thema disclosed that Varoufakis, who has expressed displeasure over his recent sidelining, is threatening to resign in a “spectacular manner”.

Nevertheless, a later statement issued by the government dismissed press reports, and stated that there is no issue of a Varoufakis resignation.
Ask me anything
Explore related questions
