Varoufakis argues Stournaras should quit as central bank governor

Former Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis stepped up his dispute with Bank of Greece Governor Yannis Stournaras on Saturday by setting out in an op-ed the four reasons for which the latter should resign.

Writing in the Saturday edition of Efimerida ton Syntakton newspaper, Varoufakis argued that Stournaras should no longer head the central bank because, a) the institution’s charter requires the governor to support the government’s economic policy, which Stournaras is accused of not doing, b) Stournaras allegedly provoked the flight of deposits by warning on December 15, 2014 of possible “irrevocable damage” if SYRIZA came to power, c) the central bank failed to stop mismanagement at Attica Bank and suspicious loans to media groups and political parties, and d) Stournaras’s claim that Varoufakis cost Greece 86 billion euros is not supported by the facts.

The two men have been engaged in a row since Stournaras told a parliamentary committee last week that he advised European Central Bank President Mario Draghi not to listen to Varoufakis when the latter was finance minister and claimed Greece was bankrupt.