Yanis Varoufakis on The Rising Tide of Nationalism

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR: So, you have described the threat from this nationalism and this populism and you are launching DiEM25, which you hope to be a progressive international, a progressive wave to counter this mostly extreme right nationalism. Can you explain how you plan to do that and what is DiEM25?

YANIS VAROUFAKIS: Well, DiEM25 is an acronym for the Democracy in Europe Movement but we are also using, you know, the Exultation Carpe Diem seize the day because we need to seize the day. As you can see in Europe, we have a domino effect or take orders or fire (ph) polities by extremists of their (INAUDIBLE) who are exploiting the discontent of the anger in order to turn against one proud nation against another, turn Italians against the Roma against migrants and so on. So, we need to seize the day. But allow me just to put it very simply. What we are trying to do is to take one brilliant idea from Franklin Roosevelt’s administration in 1973 from that new deal. And that simple idea is to utilize, to find smart ways of utilizing existing idle cash, idle money, savings that are not being invested into productive useful things for humanity into the good quality jobs that can uniquely quell the discontent caused by the fact that most people can see that their children are not going to have as good a life as they did. And press this idle cash into service in order for green transition, green technologies to green energy, green transport systems. That basic idea which, in a sense, allow the United States in 1973 onwards to avoid the decline of Europe, the degeneration of Europe at the same time into a kind of fascist equilibrium, that is that an idea that we want to salvage from the period, to bring it to Europe and indeed, to internationalize if we can so as to counter an internationalist level, both the failures of a globalization divorce, if you want, establishment that caused the crisis of 2008 and the political representation of the extremists who are now are taking over one company after the other.