Talk:Yanis Varoufakis

Personal Life - wealth

In the 'Personal Life' section I have added a short section on his financial circumstances, which reports his wealth and income. These comments have been reverted, twice, by Demetrios1993, who states: "aside of the aforementioned scandal-mongering, and even the omission of Varoufakis' rebutting of these criticisms, i still fail to see how is this significant for inclusion. All three references are by the same journalist (Anthee Carassava), and essentially say the same thing. Please provide additional reliable and independent sources, to demonstrate that we are not giving undue weight to a minor aspect of the subject." I have undone the reversion on the following basis: 1 It is not scandal-mongering: these are factual statements and there is no hint of any scandal involved (for instance there is no suggestion that any of the income was accrued by irregular means); 2 A Wikipedia article does not usually seek permission or ask for rebuttals from its subject, but Demetrios1993 is welcome to add the rebuttal he mentions (I couldn't find it); 3 The personal circumstances and wealth of an individual (particularly a politician) certainly seem worthy of inclusion in an article about them (if this article was titled 'the Economic views of Yannis Varoufakis' then I would agree that they were not relevant, but this article is about the person, not only his views); 4 The Times of London is usually regarded as an independent and reliable source. Rather than simply remove my comments, for reasons which I don't really understand, could Demetrios1993 explain the problem and perhaps we could discuss a form of words we could agree on. Or shall we seek adjudication? BobBadg (talk) 09:15, 31 March 2023 (UTC)

First of all, your edit summary (diff) and comment above include false claims about the reasons i partially reverted you; i will explain below. Regarding the points you raised:

1. Unsubstantiated criticisms, such as "profiting from Greece's misery", is scandal-mongering. From the references you included:

• His income in the past three years was €1 million, his tax returns have shown. Critics accused him of profiting from Greece's misery and being a champagne socialist.
• "Bank accounts in Switzerland, homes and property in Greece and around Europe, fleets of cars and stocks. Yep, that's a humble lifestyle," posted one angry voter

2. Regarding the rebuttal of the criticisms by Varoufakis:

• Mr Varoufakis shrugged off the attacks, saying that he owed no explanation to anyone and that he had paid more than €440,000 in taxes.

Omitting this rebuttal, while at the same time including the reported criticisms on social media, is cherrypicking; this goes against WP:NPOV and WP:BLPBALANCE.

3. Contrary to what you wrote in your edit summary, and in your comment above, i never claimed that Varoufakis' wealth is irrelevant to the topic of the article. Specifically, i wrote that "i still fail to see how is this significant for inclusion", and that "[a]ll three references are by the same journalist (Anthee Carassava), and essentially say the same thing"; then i asked you to "provide additional reliable and independent sources, to demonstrate that we are not giving undue weight to a minor aspect of the subject." Essentially i wrote that i don't think these criticisms are significant enough for inclusion. You still haven't provided any additional references; the three sources you added are all by a single journalist (Anthee Carassava). If the criticisms were significant, you would expect to find additional sources covering them; not just one journalist citing some examples from social media. I am not being unreasonable here. I myself reside in Greece, and cannot recall ever listening or reading about criticisms concerning the wealth of Varoufakis; in the news that is. Furthermore, Carassava's articles were published between 29 September and 18 October 2019; there is no indication that any of these criticisms continued thereafter. My main objection has to do with the criticisms from social media; i have no problem including a sentence about his reported wealth in 2019. By the way, Carassava said he was a millionaire, not a multi-millionaire, as you wrote; though, most likely the latter is true. For example, i don't object to something like the following:

Varoufakis was reported to be a millionaire in 2019, with a substantial property portfolio and other assets.

4. I never questioned the reliability of the sources; read my edit summary again. My objection has nothing to do with the reliability of the author, or the two publishers. However, per WP:ONUS, verifiability does not guarantee inclusion. Demetrios1993 (talk) 02:05, 2 April 2023 (UTC)

1 I didn't state, or allude to, any of the points you make in your point 1 such as "profiting from Greece's misery".

2 Because I wasn't aware of the 'scandal-mongering' items that you raise I also wasn't aware of Varoufakis' rebutal, so it can't have been cherrypicking

3 Normally one reference to a good source is sufficient. You seem to been suggesting that the criticisms are not worthy of inclusion - and TBH I can see your argument there - but the actual about his wealth and income are not criticism (in some parts of the world / cultures, high wealth and income is regarded as reflecting positively on the individual).

4 I am pleased to see that you don't question the reliability of the sources. How about we agree to leave the criticisms out altogether (i.e the reaction on social media and so on) and just report his wealth and income. This does, I would argue, merit inclusion in the biography of a high profile politician in public life.

5 If you agree to this, could we agree to some figures? The Personal Life entry has now been altered to "Varoufakis was reported to be a millionaire in 2019, with a substantial property portfolio and other assets" which isn't what the Times reported. But if you have more reliable or up-to-date information to support this version then let's use that. Then we might have consensus. BobBadg (talk) 11:41, 2 April 2023 (UTC)

1 & 2. I find it hard to believe that you were unaware of the aforementioned quotes; you were the one who added the references, and clearly alluded to these criticisms. I didn't say that you included them verbatim, but your summary is obviously based on them:

• Varoufakis is reported to be a mutli-millionaire and his considerable wealth has attracted criticism on social media. Reports that he had an income of €558,000 in 2017 and also held deposits in Swiss banks attracted controversy.

3 & 4. I have already agreed to that.

5. I suggest the following rephrasing then:

Varoufakis reported an income of about €1 million for the period 2017–2019, as well as a substantial property portfolio and other assets in his ownership.

Feel free to share your own suggestion, if you disagree. Demetrios1993 (talk) 08:14, 11 April 2023 (UTC)

This is getting ridiculous. What started off as a short and essentially factual comment from a source widely regarded as reliable (the Times of London) has turned into a slanging match, and now ends up with a version that mentions income but not the wealth that is indicated in the articles references. Is it not relevant information for a Wiki page to mention the wealth of any politician, of whatever viewpoint (Sanders, Trump, Sunak, Farage, Erdogan, Putin, for instance)? Demetrios' ad hominem attacks make one suspicious - is there something to hide? Otherwise I cannot see why there is all this fuss about a simple sentence "Varoufakis is reported to be a mutli-millionaire and his considerable wealth has attracted criticism on social media. Reports that he had an income of €558,000 in 2017 and also held deposits in Swiss banks attracted controversy". So I am going to revert to that statement, with the addition of the statement "it was reported", if they get reverted again let's seek arbitration. BobBadg (talk) 15:02, 30 April 2023 (UTC)

You appear almost a month later, and instead of sharing a counter-suggestion (per my last comment above), you disregard the discussion and revert back to a version that lacks consensus. I already told you, this has nothing to do with the reliability of the source, and i have no problem including a sentence about his wealth. My issue is with the trivial criticisms on social media, which didn't even persist apparently. Before you seek dispute resolution, you might as well share a counter-suggestion, like i asked you. You also agreed to leave the criticisms out altogether, back on 2 April (diff). Do you remember? Demetrios1993 (talk) 07:05, 2 May 2023 (UTC)

I remember agreeing, Demetrios, but you ignored our compromise and implied I was dishonest ("I find it hard to believe that you were unaware of the aforementioned quotes") so back to square one unfortunately. I'm afraid I find it hard to believe, given your comments, that you are acting in good faith. BobBadg (talk) 12:17, 2 May 2023 (UTC)

I simply said that i find hard to believe your claim, that your summary wasn't based on the references you added. Well, either it was based on them, naturally, or you added original research. How did i ignore our compromise by stating the obvious? Sorry if you took it the wrong way, but this has nothing to do with the content dispute we are discussing, and i didn't ignore any compromise. I agreed on including a sentence about Varoufakis' wealth, and then proceeded to add some relevant information in the article. Also, i don't have a problem rephrasing the sentence. I didn't make a fuss regarding your false claims about the reasons i initially reverted you, as explained in my first comment above; instead, i tried to be constructive and reasonable with a compromise. On the other hand, you went back on your word. No Bob, going back to square one would require the removal of the sentence that concerns Varoufakis' income/wealth altogether. Yet, all you did was ignore our discussion once again, and proceeded to reinstate information about some trivial social media criticism from September-October 2019. Last, PopularBio.com, which you referenced to support the "multi-millionaire" claim, is a self-published source, and cites generally unreliable sources such as Wikipedia and IMDb (see WP:RSPSS); even the claim about his net worth is not verified according to it. Demetrios1993 (talk) 04:50, 6 May 2023 (UTC)

Demetrios, may I ask: 1 why you appear to be so obsessed with covering up the extent of this man's wealth? 2. Do you not think that there should be transparency concerning the wealth of all politicians, great and small? Bob BobBadg (talk) 16:52, 6 May 2023 (UTC)

I am not "obsessed with covering up the extent of this man's wealth". There is already a relevant sentence under § Personal life, and i wrote that i am open to a rephrasing. If you can find a reliable source stating that Varoufakis is a multi-millionaire, then i won't object its addition to the article. PopularBio.com is not a reliable source, it doesn't give a precise figure ($1–5 million), and it even plainly states that this claim is "Not Verified". Special care must be taken when adding information about living persons to any page in Wikipedia; per WP:BLP. Demetrios1993 (talk) 02:53, 12 May 2023 (UTC)

Minor clean ups

I removed the words "recently" and "influential" from the sections related to Valve corporation. "Recently" should never be used as it becomes ever more incorrect as time passes. Instead, I said that he started his blog in June of 2012, which is factually correct and will not need to be updated. The reason why I removed "influential" is because the citation for the section does not note that his blog has been of major influence. I enjoy his blog and his musings on Valve's in-game economy, but if it has had a major influence, then someone needs to find a reference stating so.

I also removed the reference to his upcoming book from the Valve Corporation section to his Books in English section. The upcoming book, Reverse Alchemy: Europe on the Road to Disintegration, seemingly has nothing to do with Valve and I have no idea why it was put in the Valve Corp section. Obviously, I can't foresee if his book will be in English, but it is highly presumed that it will be, and the Books in English section is a much more appropriate place than within his working with Valve.

I hope I didn't upset anyone with these edits, as they were merely done to correct some minor quibbles with the article and to make it more concise as well as appropriately organized. 96.228.19.210 (talk) 19:47, 30 March 2013 (UTC)

Interviews

Are there alternative hosts for the videos, not reposted to YouTube on the bio's subject's YouTube channel? Note the edit history here. 169.252.4.21 (talk) 11:01, 27 January 2015 (UTC)

"Economist-in-Residence"

Article says "Varoufakis became Economist-in-Residence". What is an "Economist-in-Residence"? If anyone knows, please add this to the article or rephrase the material. Thanks. --82.136.210.153 (talk) 17:29, 27 January 2015 (UTC)

It probably means economic consultant.Jonpatterns (talk) 15:02, 31 January 2015 (UTC)

Well, yes that's what he seems to think it means. But then he calls himself "economist in residence" (in italics) in the second source. Forbes calls him an "In-House Economist", but also gores on to say: "Varoufakis is not the first economist in residence appointed by a game company". Not sure what the FT source says, as you have to pay to find out. Martinevans123 (talk) 15:47, 31 January 2015 (UTC)

The Financial times allows you to read about three article for free per month, if you register. Here are the relevant paragraphs. I've reworded to article reflect this info.Jonpatterns (talk) 11:42, 1 February 2015 (UTC)

...Yanis Varoufakis, who was an adviser to former Greek prime minister George Papandreou and a sought-after voice during the financial crisis, performs a similar role at US-based gaming company Valve. He was hired as economist-in-residence to ap­ply his expertise on problems within the eurozone to similar problems within the company’s virtual economies. “Suppose you allow members of one community to trade their assets . . . with members of other communities, or across games,” he says. “Suddenly, exchange rates across different economies emerge and so does some sort of balance of payments. Should we fix that exchange rate across this set of economies, eurozone style? Should we worry about internal imbalances evolving within such a currency union?”

Questions about exchange rates and trade deficits arose for Valve when it created a trading platform for participants to buy and trade games and assets within Steam, its gaming platform. “The eurozone all of a sudden becomes a pertinent source of insights because of its sorry history of having created the circumstances for increasing imbalances in both the current and the capital accounts of its member states,” says Prof Varoufakis. Valve’s founder Gabe Newell, he continues, “thought that there [could be] lessons for Valve . . . if Steam proved to be a kind of eurozone for video game social economies”.

Prof Varoufakis is no longer economist-in-residence but he is working with Valve to develop a predictions game. This would allow users to pin down trends in the video games industry and forecast which new game will be the next hit. He says this will be a chance to “test the hypothesis that the tens of millions of Steam users can, collectively, outperform the Fed, the IMF, the OECD in terms of the accuracy of their predictions”. ...

— Real lessons from virtual worlds By Amie Tsang (ft.com Feb 2013)

So, he's still an ""Economist-in-Residence", then. Martinevans123 (talk) 12:40, 1 February 2015 (UTC)

No, he's working on predictions game - see last paragraph of the quote. Jonpatterns (talk) 11:55, 3 February 2015 (UTC)

Thanks. Martinevans123 (talk) 12:14, 3 February 2015 (UTC)

Μiddle class family?!

You must be joking! How is this possible, with a father who was the president of Halyvourgiki? When he attended Moraitis (very expensive, upper-class only) private school? With his mother member of an "elite" women's group of PASOK. Please change it, the article is a joke like that.

Y done Jonpatterns (talk) 15:47, 18 February 2015 (UTC)

His family were not aristocracy, i.e. Upper Class, were they? 2.28.151.244 (talk) 16:01, 28 June 2021 (UTC)

Yanis or Yannis?

I thought Yannis is spelled with double nn, from the Greek Γιάννης — Preceding unsigned comment added by 92.6.17.238 (talk) 15:03, 22 February 2015 (UTC)

It appears he spells it Yanis. All these sources spell it Yanis: His Twitter Business article His website Newspaper article. Also, a Google search for Yannis Varoufakis suggests spelling it Yanis instead. Your Greek might be correct, but this appears to be the way he spells it. Joseph2302 (talk) 15:44, 22 February 2015 (UTC)

"Always defiant" Mr Varoufakis showed signs of defiance and non-conformism from a very early age. That includes deliberately misspelling his name Yanis, writing it with only one "n" since elementary school. "I had an aesthetic problem with the double "n"," he said. "So I decided to write my name with one. My teacher gave me a bad grade, which made me very angry and I've kept writing my name with one "n" ever since."

BBC. Δρ.Κ. ^{λόγοςπράξις} 17:52, 22 February 2015 (UTC)

Thanks, for nailing that one, Dr. K. .. "who knew"!? Martinevans123 (talk) 20:50, 22 February 2015 (UTC)

Thank you Martin for your kind comments and the humorous links. You nailed it with the link to the letter nu. I guess I broke the news about the breaking of the nus. :) Δρ.Κ. ^{λόγοςπράξις} 01:30, 23 February 2015 (UTC)

Does he also write his name with one "ν" in Greek? All the links are in English. Alakzi (talk) 23:38, 1 March 2015 (UTC)

According to the BBC quote he started writing his name with one "n" since elementary school because he had an aesthetic problem with the double "n". Since he was educated in Greece he must have written it in Greek with one "n" since then. Δρ.Κ. ^{λόγοςπράξις} 00:18, 2 March 2015 (UTC)

Well, that makes sense. It's fascinating that he was sufficiently aware of the phonology of the language at that age, considering that phonics is not taught in Greek schools. Alakzi (talk) 00:47, 2 March 2015 (UTC)

That's a good point. Although, imo, the phonology-related awareness you mention is rather widespread in Greek schools due to the existence of multiple ways of rendering similar sounds through diphthongs and single letters, all of which have exactly the same pronunciation. This leads people to wonder why all these alternative spellings should exist just for the sake of an orthography which traces its existence to ancient times and does not have a practical functionality in the modern language. Δρ.Κ. ^{λόγοςπράξις} 02:50, 2 March 2015 (UTC)

Finance minister section is unbalanced

The newly added section of "Finance minister" contains only negative assessments of Varoufakis. As such I tagged it as POV. Varoufakis has also received praise from notable economists which is not represented in the section as currently written. Δρ.Κ. ^{λόγοςπράξις} 19:41, 21 March 2015 (UTC)

With the Economist calling for his replacement, the stinky finger salute, his photo shoot, the criticized unpragmatic attitude, his dream to be able to change every euro in Greece suddenly to a Drachma, I would say the section could be written a lot more negatively as well. -jmv2009Jmv2009 (talk) 20:36, 21 March 2015 (UTC)

Varoufakis is a public figure. As such he has his detractors as well as his supporters. I would say the section could be written a lot more negatively as well. This does not address the problems of the section as it curently stands which reads like an unbalanced and negative piece on Varoufakis. ...his dream to be able to change every euro in Greece suddenly to a Drachma I haven't seen that kind of statement from Varoufakis who has actually compared the eurozone to "Hotel California", stating that you can never leave it. Also, the so-called "stinky finger salute" was based on a doctored video and the person who did it has actually confessed to doing it. Δρ.Κ. ^{λόγοςπράξις} 21:35, 21 March 2015 (UTC)

He can't leave the Euro, because he can't change every Euro suddenly into a Drachma. Jmv2009 (talk) 03:43, 22 March 2015 (UTC)— Preceding unsigned comment added by Jmv2009 (talk • contribs) 03:40, 22 March 2015 (UTC)

He can't leave the Euro, because he can't change every Euro suddenly into a Drachma. Do you have a citation for your statement or is it just your POV? Δρ.Κ. ^{λόγοςπράξις} 07:36, 22 March 2015 (UTC)

Unless he changed his mind, See [1]. "The Argentinians had the Peso's in their pockets". It is also consistent with your comment that his opinion is that you can't leave the EuroJmv2009 (talk) 16:49, 22 March 2015 (UTC)

This is your own interpretation from examining primary sources. It cannot be admitted to the article. Δρ.Κ. ^{λόγοςπράξις} 16:59, 22 March 2015 (UTC)

To the best of our knowledge, the finger wasn't doctored. Jan Böhmermann's admitting to it being doctored was satire. Alakzi (talk) 22:00, 21 March 2015 (UTC)

I see. The fake was a fake. An absurd episode gets even more absurd. Thank you Alakzi. Δρ.Κ. ^{λόγοςπράξις} 22:06, 21 March 2015 (UTC)

I've rewritten the section to better reflect the sources. I've added information about the agreement on the four month loan extension. Also, I've tried to make the tone more neutral.Jonpatterns (talk) 23:14, 21 March 2015 (UTC)

Thank you Jon for your rewrite which greatly improved the section. The only thing missing to fix the POV problem is some positive critiques from notable economists and think tanks. I would normally add these myself but I don't know if I have the time to research and organise the information. Δρ.Κ. ^{λόγοςπράξις} 00:48, 22 March 2015 (UTC)

The article no longer appears to have any criticism of his performance at all. Does this really count as balanced?128.90.34.69 (talk) 21:44, 29 April 2015 (UTC)

Does he have a son?

The article says he has a daughter from his first marriage. Does he have a son as well? I ask because this article mentions him moving to Texas because his son had received death threats. aoxiang翱翔^(user)(talk) 14:03, 24 March 2015 (UTC)

Either he does, or the article is mistaken. Does a web search show anything? Jonpatterns (talk) 15:00, 24 March 2015 (UTC)

I doubt the article is mistaken, as it's an interview with Varoufakis himself and quotes his answers verbatim. However, I can't seem to find much online (although I'm hindered by not knowing Greek). There are these articles that quote the original Stern interview. There's also this video from an Instagram under his name, although the authenticity of that account hasn't been officially verified. Perhaps this is his wife's son from her first marriage? Could anyone who speaks Greek provide more info? aoxiang翱翔^(user)(talk) 15:39, 24 March 2015 (UTC)

His has two step children, perhaps one these was the son who was threatened. From previous relationships, Mr. Varoufakis has a daughter and Ms. Stratou has two children. feisty Jonpatterns (talk) 17:44, 24 March 2015 (UTC)

Thanks for the link! I've been spending a while trying to verify the gender of her children, but I haven't been able to do so. Regardless, I do think that's the most likely explanation, that he was referring to his stepson, as I haven't managed to find any references to any other children of his apart from his daughter. Thanks! aoxiang翱翔^(user)(talk) 14:53, 25 March 2015 (UTC)

Varoufakis' Wife

Hi Dr K

I thought this would be a good place to discuss. I feel that a small bit on Varoufakis' wife's ambitions and previous schooling is relevant to this article as many other articles would also include a small piece on a person's relatives, be that wife, children or parents, especially when that person may not warrant their own page. See Nick Clegg's page, Barack Obama's page and Ban Ki-moon's page: all give some background and information on their immediate family. I would think that this is appropriate here.

Thanks H.Y.

217.146.31.19 (talk)

Stratou speculation

A little Background information on Ms Stratou seems appropriate. However, there is no evidence that Stratou is the topic of Common People by Pulp. This is the ref provided, it states-

Ms Stratou herself has not yet commented, nor has Mr Cocker.

Jonpatterns (talk) 15:43, 12 May 2015 (UTC)

I agree the piece is speculative, but given that the source is BBC, as long as the article attributes the rumour to the Athens Voice newspaper, I don't see there's a problem. We should not present it as a fact, but it's hardly defamatory. 20.133.0.13 (talk) 16:01, 12 May 2015 (UTC)

Here's the same story in The Standard: [2]. And here's a piece in The Independent: [3] which reports his response. It seems that, in an interview with the BBC World Service, Varoufakis "did not confirm" reports. But then he didn't even know her back then. So maybe that counts as "did not deny". Martinevans123 (talk) 09:49, 17 May 2015 (UTC)

Wording of reference to Adam Smith Institute

The Adam Smith Institute, one of the leading free-market think tanks of the United Kingdom, has "enthusiastically" supported Varoufakis's debt-swap plan and has asked British Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne to support it.

@Dr.K.: The phrase 'one of the leading' is unnecessary and unencyclopaedic. As it gives the impressive Wikipedia is saying the institute is 'one of the leading' rather than a particular source. For example, even the article on the Adam Smith Institute does not say it is 'premier' or 'one of the leading'. Jonpatterns (talk) 10:10, 15 June 2015 (UTC)

No need for pings thank you. I have the page watchlisted. The source says:

Greece's finance minister Yanis Varoufakis has found an enthusiastic backer for his debt restructuring plans in one of Britain's premier free-market think-tanks.

I think that we should provide the context that the RS does. There is nothing unencyclopedic in the quotation if it is supported by a reliable source. I have also added four additional reliable sources from U. Penn. and specialist publications from Google books in support of the context that the Adam Smith Institute is a top-ranked think tank. That the main article on the Adam Smith Institute does not mention that it is "top-ranked" may be due to the fact that nobody bothered to find RS to support the description. But sources do exist and I have added them to this article. Δρ.Κ. ^{λόγοςπράξις} 10:26, 15 June 2015 (UTC)

Thanks for adding the additional sources. I no longer oppose the phrasing. Its still a tricky area without stating who is saying an institute is top-ranked or leading. Jonpatterns (talk) 10:56, 15 June 2015 (UTC)

Thank you. I agree that attribution is indeed a tricky area as you put it. However as far as I know if multiple RS agree on a given description then attribution to individual sources is not necessary. Δρ.Κ. ^{λόγοςπράξις} 11:29, 15 June 2015 (UTC)

There appear to be unsubstantiated edits to this article. In particular, the reference to Varoufakis as "crazy", a "wannabe economist" and "proud gay". I am no expert on the guy, but these appear to be in error. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Dragunski7 (talk • contribs) 01:19, 3 July 2015 (UTC)

Wording relative to recent resignation

Both in the introduction and in the "political career" sections, we state that he resigned following the no-vote. From the POV of a reader without previous knowledge, it sound like he was pushing for the yes, the people voted no, so he resigned.

Varoufakis resigned as Finance Minister on 6 July 2015 (the day following the 'no' vote in the bailout referendum)

It was actually a political victory for Vourafakis followed . And our wording (which i changed once but it was since deleted) should be clear on that. Yug (talk) 09:18, 8 July 2015 (UTC)

New source

New Statesman interview:

• http://www.newstatesman.com/world-affairs/2015/07/yanis-varoufakis-full-transcript-our-battle-save-greece

--NSH001 (talk) 09:29, 14 July 2015 (UTC)

Question about his PhD

I tried to find his MSc and his PhD dissertations, at least the PhD diss, on the swedish LIBRIS service. But without success. His bibliograhy startes at 1990 and none of the books is a PhD dissertation. I'm not able to search otherwise, but someone here may help? The link to LIBRIS is: http://libris.kb.se/hitlist?q=Varoufakis&p=1&d=libris&m=5&s=rc&t=v&f=simp&r=;mat:(bok)

--IP7869 (talk) 21:04, 14 July 2015 (UTC)

Copyright problem removed

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Varoufakis MP?

I just saw this in the Political career section

Varoufakis sits with Syriza legislators in parliament but is not a party member.[10]

At first, I took it at face value, looked at the infobox which does not show membership in parliament, and thought he had been appointed.

I blithely copyedited him out of Syriza and Parliament, then I reread the second line of the article,

In the January 2015 general election, he was elected to the Greek parliament, representing Syriza,[6] and took office in the new government of Alexis Tsipras two days later, on 27 January 2015.[7]

...which is supported by those footnotes and the article on the election itself, which shows Varoufakis standing for Syriza in Athens A, and winning.

Reverted myself proactively(?), then read note [10] (see article), which does not support the is not a party member assertion.

I have been bold, and snipped it out. The infobox should be restructured as well, to show his continued membership in the Greek Parliament, by someone who follows Greek politics more closely than I.

-SM 08:25, 10 August 2015 (UTC)

To my understanding on what he explains in "adults in the room" he is not a party member of Syriza but was elected on a Syriza list in the 2015 elections, thus 'representing Syriza'.

89.217.63.117 (talk) 21:25, 3 November 2017 (UTC)

And The Weak Suffer What They Must? [book]

People remember the weak when they become. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2A02:587:4108:5F00:B577:E8C5:B37A:AB6E (talk) 15:49, 20 August 2016 (UTC)

Marxist

While the page mentions that he's a Marxist, this isn't discussed in the article. There are also various blends of Marxist, which one is he? --105.12.2.146 (talk) 02:46, 9 December 2019 (UTC)

What makes him a philosopher?

Why is he considered a philosopher? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 174.234.15.239 (talk) 11:54, 5 July 2020 (UTC)

Nothing, he is more a pondered. The claim seems to be removed. Ceoil (talk) 11:56, 2 April 2023 (UTC)

Objection to the section about him being attacked

I find that the wording and angle taken to discuss the attack on him to be quite biased in his favour, painting him as a hero as he will recover while the tempi families won’t, I suggest that it should be rewritten to keep a neutral point of view or removed from the article entirely. The entire wording and way he is painted from the incident seem to be skewed in his favour. (I am not saying to "hear out both sides" of the attack, just to make it seem less dithyrambic) Lexoomfie (talk) 10:40, 13 May 2023 (UTC)

The sentence "Despite his broken nose and other injuries, Varoufakis remained steadfast in his commitment to focus on the fatal Tempi train crash a few weeks earlier" could be removed, as it is sourced to a youtube video and is not related to the attack. The rest of the paragraph seems to be a straightforward account of the incident. Burrobert (talk) 13:43, 13 May 2023 (UTC)

I think that’d be better, but the usage of thugs earlier in the paragraph feels somewhat bizarre, otherwise it’d be fine imo. Lexoomfie (talk) 10:39, 14 May 2023 (UTC)

You are correct. "Thugs" is the description provided by DIEM so should not be used in Wikivoice. The article describes them as "a group of five individuals in face coverings", which would be a more appropriate description. Burrobert (talk) 12:14, 14 May 2023 (UTC)

I've rewritten the sentence to address the issue; I also noticed that the cited source is a YouTube video from DiEM25. If other independent sources are found, it could provide more useful details. For instance, what did he focus on regarding the crash? Kind regards, --NoonIcarus (talk) 09:53, 15 May 2023 (UTC)

I went ahead and removed the sentence about his focus on the Tempi train crash, altogether. It seemed superfluous in a paragraph about the attack on him; not to mention that the whole country was focusing on the tragedy back then. Furthermore, a YouTube video being the source, isn't in itself a reason to remove the content; however, in this case we are apparently dealing with a copyright violation, since the ultimate originator of the interview is not DiEM25, but ANT1 (Kalimera Ellada). Please read WP:VIDEOREF and WP:RSPYT. Also, i changed the date format at the beginning of the paragraph; per MOS:DATEUNIFY. Last, i see no reason to keep the {{POV statement}} tag; i removed it as well. Demetrios1993 (talk) 04:09, 20 May 2023 (UTC)

Georgiou

Why is his middle name 'Georgiou' missing from the initial English known name? John arneVN (talk) 16:20, 11 June 2023 (UTC)

Adding a passage on antisemitism accusation

My additions about this subject were removed without proper justification. The facts are that Yanis was accused of antisemitism and that he refused to condemn the Hamas massacre on October 7th. I therefore ask to restore what I wrote. Here are the sources: http://www.icjs-online.org/index.php?eid=702&ICJS=2394&article=659 https://www.welt.de/debatte/kommentare/article136950193/So-judenfeindlich-sind-Tsipras-und-seine-Leute.html https://www.ekathimerini.com/news/1222141/varoufakis-vows-never-to-condemn-hamas-attack/ — Preceding unsigned comment added by Vegan416 (talk • contribs) 08:23, 22 October 2023 (UTC)

I did include an edit summary, but just to elaborate, if this was to be included in the article, i don't think it deserves a separate section; the content could be added separately under § Early life and education (for the SBS allegation) and § Later political career (2015–present) (for Varoufakis' position on Hamas' attack and the Israeli–Palestinian conflict in general). Furthermore, regarding your summary on the allegation by SBS, it lacks neutrality, because you didn't include Varoufakis' own rebuttal of it. Last, the claim that Varoufakis didn't condemn Hamas' attack is outdated (see WP:AGE MATTERS), because about a week after the reports you shared, he published an article (here) where he clarified his position, and did condemn Hamas' deliberate violence against non-combatants; however, he refused to condemn Hamas as an organization, as he also refused to condemn Israel for its atrocities, and he gave very specific reasons that you also excluded from your summary.

By the way, don't forget to sign your comments; per WP:TILDE. Demetrios1993 (talk) 03:09, 23 October 2023 (UTC)

The SBS comment of concern to ICJS isn't anti-Semitic as much as incorrect:

"In his broadcasting on SBS Radio, Dr Varoufakis has called Gaza a "useless hostile land which Israel ceded "to gain the West Bank" and has referred to the security barrier as a "concrete monster"."

There is nothing inherently "useless" or "hostile" about the Gaza strip. It is prime beachfront land and has been documented as an area of interest to successive explorers, conquerors etc. dating to the earliest records of the Ottoman empire. The security barrier isn't concrete; it is mostly fencing that yields to wire cutters. Also, Israel didn't "get" the West Bank in exchange for Gaza in 2005. The ICJS conclusion was that he is an economist, “not a political scientist or an expert on Middle Eastern politics” which seems reasonable to me. It doesn't belong in early life as he was a working professional economist by then, nor does his BLP warrant an anti-semitism section.--FeralOink (talk) 12:26, 3 March 2024 (UTC)

I know this is a primary source, but it is rather helpful for keeping track of his opinions, and is from his own website: category anti-semitism. He updates it regularly and titles it "Antisemitism Archives".--FeralOink (talk) 12:26, 3 March 2024 (UTC)

Term "troika" definition

I found that this term is mentioned many times but none of those mentions has a link to it's definition.

The disambiguation page does not make clear which interpretation is the correct one. 181.168.205.58 (talk) 12:56, 16 February 2024 (UTC)

 Done: I included a wikilink to the relevant Troika (European group). Demetrios1993 (talk) 16:39, 17 February 2024 (UTC)

Influenced by Zizek

Slavok Zizek is written on influences. Is there a source of this? I know he has had polite conversations with him, they are both in the DiEM25 movement. I just find it quite unlikely that some one as clear minded, straight forward and smart as Varoufakis would say he is influenced by someone who never learned to end a sentence before starting the next one. Not to be rude to any fans of Zizek, but does anyone know if he has ever mentioned Zizek as a source of influence? I do know Zizek has mentioned Varoufakis as an inspiration/hero or something like that. Could there have been a mix up? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 185.183.147.163 (talk) 16:27, 19 March 2024 (UTC)

Betätigungsverbot (ban on political activity in Germany)

My near-total ignorance on Wikipedia editorial and technical standards and guidelines precludes me from adding information on this topic, but I would be grateful if someone more knowledgeable than I could do so.

On April 13, 2024, Yanis Varoufakis was reportedly "banned not just from visiting Germany but from participating in video conferences about politics hosted in Germany." Is this development worthy of, or eligible for, inclusion in this article? 19:52, 13 April 2024 (UTC) AviJacobson (talk) 19:52, 13 April 2024 (UTC)

Seems to have been a misunderstanding: https://diem25.org/chronicle-of-the-betatigungsverbot-against-yanis-varoufakis/

Although the episode as a whole might still be notable; at least one sentence or something should be fine. TucanHolmes (talk) 14:43, 14 April 2024 (UTC)

2024 European parliament election

Who was Varoufakis representing in the 2024 European election? It does not appear to be MERA25. The source currently being used for his candidacy is [4] which states "Yanis Varoufakis, who is also campaigning in Athens for a seat in the EU Parliament". It links to MERA25's list of 10 candidates, which does not include Varoufakis.[5] Burrobert (talk) 11:32, 26 June 2024 (UTC)

¯\_(⊙︿⊙)_/¯ Burrobert (talk) 13:27, 2 July 2024 (UTC)