Gaining celebrity status, Varoufakis appeared on television discussion panels, giving interviews to journalists revealing his economic prophecies.
And as the refugee crisis usurped the Greek economic crisis from the front pages, it appeared that Varoufakis was onto something when he predicted that the thousands of migrants making their way to Europe from the Middle East, Africa and Asia threatened the future of the European Union.
"It makes it hard for the EU to function as a political entity, as a unified entity", Varoufakis said.
"The centrifugal force of monetary union has made it harder to deal with the refugee crisis. In a sense, it is the straw that has broken the camel's back," Varoufakis told The Guardian.
And now Varoufakis is back — with a new political movement.
According to socialist newspaper "Neues Deutschland", Greece's former finance minister is planning to launch a movement which he hopes will reform European Union institutions.
Varoufakis is scheduled to present the Democracy in Europe Movement 2025, DiEM 25, at Berlin's Volksbuhne theater in February.
Carpe #diem25
— Thomas Mavrofides (@blacktom1961) January 4, 2016
The event program states that Varoufakis will introduce DiEM25 "with 'collaborators' from across Europe to present concrete ideas on how to democratize Europe and how to avoid its creeping fragmentation."
How to «democratise or abolish» EU in less than ten years. Read @yanisvaroufakis draft Manifesto for #DiEM25 Dropbox https://t.co/AXiczZTYLc
— Dimitris Yannopoulos (@DimitrisY) January 5, 2016
Many EU countries have turned their backs on Greece, refusing to assist in resettling the thousands of refugees who arrive on a daily basis. Other member states have built unofficial borders and increased visa checks, closing down Europe's open policy of freedom of movement. The cracks have already appeared and the solidarity of the European Union remains at risk.
