Greece's Finance Minister Resigns

Greece's combative finance minister, who took a strong stand in demanding that creditors write off some of his country's debts, abruptly resigned on Monday morning.

The finance minister, Yanis Varoufakis, had played a key role in rallying votes for a resounding "no" on a referendum on Sunday that asked Greeks whether they were willing to accept an arrangement with creditors that would require considerable further austerity, such as pension cuts. Varoufakis had threatened last week to resign if a "yes" vote passed, and his decision to resign after he and his allies prevailed in the referendum was unexpected.

Varoufakis said in a statement on his website that he was resigning because Greece's creditors had made it clear that they did not want to negotiate any further with him. "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; an idea that the prime minister judged to be potentially helpful to him in reaching an agreement. For this reason I am leaving the Ministry of Finance today."

He called for the prompt conclusion of "an agreement that involves debt restructuring, less austerity, redistribution in favor of the needy, and real reforms."

He included in his announcement a Parthian shot at his interlocutors in the debt negotiations, saying, "And I shall wear the creditors' loathing with pride."