Greece finance minister to resign if referendum endorses bailout

Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis of Greece said on Thursday that he would resign immediately if Greeks voting in a referendum on Sunday endorse efforts to secure an international bailout deal for the country, The New York Times reported.

His comment is the starkest sign yet that the government of Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras is likely to be reshuffled or could even fall if a yes vote prevails.

Tsipras’s government has been exhorting Greeks this week to vote no in the referendum, which, while couched in confusing language, effectively asks whether the nation is willing to accept more austerity in exchange for billions of euros that the country needs to return to solvency.

After a remarkable series of twists and turns in negotiations with creditors this week, the proposal on which Greeks will be voting is no longer even on the table, as the bailout package expired Tuesday night.