Observers have taken an almost prurient fascination with some sketchy details of the contingency plans then Finance Minister Varoufakis had developed for Greece if it had been forced to leave the monetary union. They are hardly surprising in substance. It was quite clear that gaining control of the central bank's reserves was an essential step. We had warned that replacing the central bank governor with an ally of the Syriza government was a logical step on the escalation ladder. A separate or parallel payment system would have also been necessary. The precise details are shaped by the particular institutional and ... (full story)