Greek Debt Crisis: New Bailout Package, Finance Minister Supported By Anti-Austerity Predecessor Yanis Varoufakis

Former Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis tweeted Friday that he fully supports new Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos as well as the new bailout deal on the table for Greece. His position surprised many as the new plan is an almost complete reversal of the anti-austerity stance he and Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras took during the July 5 referendum. In the runup to that referendum, the pair urged Greeks to vote against a bailout as a way of signaling their refusal to accept any more austerity.

The new plan submitted by Greece would include a 53.5 billion euro ($59 billion) bailout in exchange for budget and pension cuts. If passed, some fear there could be repercussions from the Greek people, as this new plan largely ignores voters' "no" vote in the Sunday referendum.

Tsakalotos became finance minister Monday after Varoufakis resigned from office the same day -- one day after the voters in the referendum overwhelmingly voted against the bailout plan. His resignation came as a surprise to many because he had been a proud supporter of the "no" vote, publishing a blog post entitled "Our NO is a majestic, big YES to a democratic, rational Europe!" There was some speculation that Varoufakis was asked to step down in the runup to further negotiations because he has been known for erratic behavior and once referred to Greece's creditors as "terrorists."

Tsakalotos is much more reserved as finance minister and has come out in full support of Tsipras' proposed new bailout plan. Born in the Netherlands and raised in the U.K., Tsakalotos has been a longtime member of Tsipras' Syriza party.

Varoufakis remains a member of European Parliament.