Greek economist and politician Yanis Varoufakis has denounced being summoned by police to testify after admitting in a podcast that he tried ecstasy in 1989. Authorities are investigating him for possible complicity with drug mafias based on that anecdote. Varoufakis describes the incident as hilarious yet frightening, warning of eroding freedoms in Europe.
Yanis Varoufakis, former Greek Economy Minister in 2015 and leader of the left-wing Europeanist party DIEM25, has been summoned by Greek police to testify before anti-drug agents. The reason stems from a confession he made in a local videopodcast called Phasma, where young people asked about his drug experiences. There, Varoufakis admitted trying marijuana and, in 1989 while living in Sydney (Australia), ecstasy once.
The politician recounted dancing for 16 hours under its effects, followed by a terrible week-long migraine that deterred him from trying it again. "That was my introduction to point out that, however pleasant drug use may seem, there's a price to pay. And the ultimate price is dependence, addiction, 'the end of freedom,' I said emphatically," he explained in a subsequent video on social media. Two police officers showed up at his home with a citation, charging him with "narcoterrorism" and possible "complicity with the narcomafia".
"It would be hilarious if it weren't scary," Varoufakis wrote, noting his party currently holds no parliamentary seats. The incident follows a post by conservative Health Minister Adonis Georgiadis criticizing the podcast excerpt: "There are people who have died from half a pill," expressing annoyance at "all those irresponsible leftists who say the first thing that comes to their heads".
Varoufakis used it to warn: "Speaking seriously, in times of war, genocide, atrocious exploitation, etc., my little problem with the Greek police is of no importance. But it is important. Here in Europe, many people still live under the illusion that we have freedom, rationality, and autonomy. It's not so. There are dark forces at work pushing us toward a postmodern version of the Middle Ages. So watch out, people! They want to take away the last remnants of autonomy and freedom we have left. Resistance is, literally, existence".
This case highlights political tensions in Greece, where Varoufakis advocates ideas like 'technofeudalism' in current capitalism.