One thing is for certain, the former Greek finance minister knows how to work a crowd.
In his appearance last Saturday at Melbourne’s Athenaeum Theatre as part of The Wheeler Centre’s Interrobang: Festival of Questions, Yanis Varoufakis stood before the packed venue with his Australian passport in hand.
Having lectured in economics at Sydney University in the 1990s, he made it clear to all that he was proud to be affiliated with Down Under.
He also spoke about the recent appointment of Malcolm Turnbull as the Australian prime minister, and said he was extremely impressed with what he had seen of his efforts so far, and believes Mr Turnbull has the ability to make a real difference.
Unsurprisingly, a large portion of the segment was dedicated to the Greek economic crisis and state of affairs, during which Mr Varoufakis controversially referred to the efforts of the Europeans to save Greece from bankruptcy as an “economic Gallipoli” on par with the failed Gallipoli campaign of World War I.
In an interview with The Australian, he warned that if European institutions don’t quickly address issues such as public debt, under-investment and rising poverty, the eurozone could face a “Soviet-style break-up”.
Teamed up with journalist Mary Kostakidis, it was clear the former finance minister was the star attraction, speaking for more than 40 minutes in response to questions sent in by the public.