Long Reads: The Legacy of Greece’s Oxi Referendum w/ Yanis Varoufakis

It’s now ten years since the people of Greece voted in a referendum on the austerity program of the European Union. The referendum was called by the government of Alexis Tsipras and his left-wing Syriza party after months of negotiations with the EU. It brought the attention of the world media to what was happening in Greece after years of economic crisis.

To the surprise of many, there was a decisive 61 percent majority for the “no” side. But then, with bewildering speed, Tsipras signed up to a new austerity program that was more punitive than the one voters had rejected a few days earlier. The U-turn triggered the resignation of the Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis.

Yanis joins Long Reads for a discussion about the legacy of the 2015 referendum.

You can find a loosely edited transcript of the interview here: https://jacobin.com/2025/07/yanis-varoufakis-on-the-legacy-of-greeces-oxi-referendum

Long Reads is a Jacobin podcast looking in-depth at political topics and thinkers, both contemporary and historical, with the magazine’s longform writers. Hosted by features editor Daniel Finn. Produced by Conor Gillies with music by Knxwledge.