Varoufakis, scourge of Greece's int'l creditors, steps aside

Athens

GREECE'S maverick finance minister Yanis Varoufakis, who announced his surprise resignation on Monday, achieved near-celebrity status with an urban-cool image and visceral attacks on the country's international creditors.

In the culmination of his verbal barbs on the eve of the referendum, Mr Varoufakis accused the lenders of "terrorism", by pushing for Greeks to vote "Yes" to bailout terms that would "humiliate" them.

The "No" camp won a resounding victory on Sunday, but Mr Varoufakis stepped aside, saying that it had become clear his departure would help Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras in the ensuing negotiations with creditors.

"Minister No More!" the 54-year-old announced on his blog.

"Soon after the announcement of the referendum results, I was made aware of a certain preference by some Eurogroup participants, and assorted 'partners', for my ... 'absence' from its meetings…