Attack on opposition leader in the middle of the street in Greece

Yanis Varoufakis, leader of the Greek opposition Mera25 Party, was attacked in the capital Athens.

According to news from the Greek state agency AMNA, Varoufakis was beaten by unidentified people outside the restaurant where he was eating in the Eksarhia district of Athens on Friday night. Varoufakis, who requested first aid at the Evangelismos Hospital in the capital, turned out to have a broken nose.

According to the Mera 25 statement, while Varoufakis was having dinner with politicians from the Movement for Democracy in Europe (DiEM25), a group of assailants called his attention by insulting him. The attackers beat Varoufakis, who came over to talk to them.

Greek President Katerina Sakellaropoulou shared on her Twitter account: “Violence has no place in our democracy. It offends our institutions and values, and damages our unity.”

Political parties, both pro-government and opposition, and a large number of politicians condemned the attack. Citizen Protection Minister Takis Theodorikakos spoke to Varoufakis by phone and said Greek police would work to catch the attackers as soon as possible.

HE WAS MINISTER OF FINANCE DURING THE CRISIS

Known for his identities as economist and politician, Varoufakis entered parliament as an MP for the Radical Left Alliance Party (SYRIZA) in the 2015 general election and became finance minister in the SYRIZA government.

Varoufakis resigned from his position following SYRIZA’s decision to sign the memorandum, following the 2015 referendum in which the Greek people said “no” to signing a memorandum with the European Union and the IMF over the country’s debts.

Varoufakis founded the Movement for Democracy in Europe (Diem25) in 2016 and entered the Greek parliament with the Mera25 Party, founded in 2018 under his leadership, with 3.44 percent of the vote in the 2019 general election.

Mera25 won 9 out of 300 seats in parliament in the 2019 elections. Today, Mera25 has 6 deputies in parliament. (AA)