The appointment of Elena Panariti as Greece’s representative at the IMF has caused major uproar with SYRIZA, with the Prime Minister reportedly asking the Minister of Finances to reconsider his choice. Following the teleconference with Angela Merkel and Francois Hollande, PM Alexis Tsipras discussed the matter with Yanis Varoufakis, who agreed that a quick solution was necessary.
After Mrs. Panariti’s appointment was made public, many SYRIZA MPs expressed their frustration and have demanded that she be replaced. So far, 43 MPs have signed a document, where they demand her immediate replacement, as they accuse her of being a “prominent representative of the ‘memorandum’ policy” and as such, she cannot represent the government.
Amongst the MPs who have demanded the replacement of Mrs. Panariti are prominent party and government officers, such as State Minister Nikos Pappas, Productive Reconstruction Minister Panagiotis Lafazanis, MEP Dimitris Papadimoulis and MP Nikos Filis. The government’s general secretary Spyros Sagias told To Vima that Mrs. Panariti’s appoint was “unacceptable”.
Rumors circulating on Monday suggest that Mrs. Panariti may resign, while Finance Minister Varoufakis is said to be considering to resign over he controversy. In a series of tweets, Mr. Varoufakis dispute the rumors, as being ‘premature’, but quoted John Maynard Keynes, adding that “in the long run, we are all dead”.
