That'll help pay off your debts! Greece's 'champagne socialist' finance minister puts luxury holiday home up for rent for €5,000 A WEEK

  • Yanis Varoufakis has been mockingly nicknamed a 'champagne socialist'
  • 53-year-old became austerity-hit Greece's new finance minister in January
  • Took part in photoshoot showing off his luxurious Athens home last month
  • Now seems to have put his villa on Greek island of Aegina on the market
  • Syriza government labelled country's finance woes as humanitarian crisis
  • 30 per cent of Greeks are living underneath poverty line, new report says

Greece's new left-wing finance minister has put his luxury holiday home up for rent at €5,000 a week, it emerged today.

With his heiress wife and luxurious second home, Yanis Varoufakis has been mocked as a champagne socialist.

A celebrity style photoshoot at his Athens home showed him playing piano in living room and eating al fresco with his wife 'in their love nest at the foot of the Acropolis'.

Now the embarrassed politician appears to have decided that the anti-austerity look is bad for business when it comes to your personal life - and has put his stylish holiday villa on the island of Aegina on the market.

Keeping up appearances: Varoufakis and his wife Danae Stratou - a visual artist who comes from a wealthy industrialist family - would spend their summers at the picturesque villa

Keeping up appearances: Varoufakis and his wife Danae Stratou - a visual artist who comes from a wealthy industrialist family - would spend their summers at the picturesque villa

Varoufakis is a leading minister in Greece's new left-wing Syriza government, which has labelled the country's ongoing economic woes as a humanitarian crisis.

But his privileged globe-trotting lifestyle may not sit well with his new position.

For years the dual national Greek-Australian and his wife Danae Stratou a visual artist have spent their summers at the 170-square-metre stone-built holiday home with friends and children.

The architect-designed villa comes complete with an infinity pool and it has featured in several decor magazines. In one previous interview the couple have told of their love of spending time at the house with the family and gazing at the view.

The charming, sun-drenched island is totally unknown to package tourists. It is famed for its crystal clear waters, ancient abandoned villages, olive groves and pistachio orchards.

According to the official listing on Boutique Athens - who sell and rent luxury apartments - the picturesque villa boasts a home cinema system and offers free WiFi to the guests staying in its spacious five bedrooms. 

The glass walls in the living and dining areas give fabulous views of the beautiful landscape and sparkling blue waters below.

And the 'modern, stylish' kitchen is fully equipped with an oven, fridge and coffee maker if visitors are not in the mood to visit 'an array of tavernas, restaurants and bars' nearby.

Varoufakis' wife Danae Stratou, a mother of two, is one of Greece's best known contemporary artists and has works hosted in galleries around the world.

She met Varoufakis, 53, after her previous marriage with the son of a newspaper publisher who assassinated by the ultra-leftist 17N terror gang.

Extensive: The listings detail some of the luxury facilities available at the villa, including a home cinema 

Extensive: The listings detail some of the luxury facilities available at the villa, including a home cinema 

The chic installation artist comes from a wealthy industrialist family. Her grandfather founded the Peiraiki Patraiki textile works in western Greece, the largest private employer in the country at one point.

When the company eventually went bankrupt, the family remained wealthy. Despite her priveleged background, she claims that she shares the same ideology as Varoufakis, the son of a chemistry professor.

With Yanis, we are totally in compatibility in our own world, in our common plight that we have chartered over the last decade. I totally agree with his positions and ideology
Danae Stratou, Varoufakis' wife

She explained in a profile: 'With Yanis, we are totally in compatibility in our own world, in our common plight that we have chartered over the last decade. I totally agree with his positions and ideology.

'We were always on the same wave length, even before we met. Perhaps this helped me become more conscious about certain matters.'

Varoufakis, an economic professor who has taught in Australia and Athens, was also married before and has a daughter called Xenia, who lives in Australia with her mother.

The couple based themselves in the United States from 2012 until work with Syriza brought them back to Greece. There Varoufakis taught at the University of Texas at Austin.

With children and career interests on different continents the couple spend their lives travelling all over the world, a far cry from the lives of ordinary Greeks.

They were pictured by Paris Match magazine in their Athens home last month dining in style on the roof terrace while Varoufakis told the magazine how he abhorred the 'star system'.

The magazine also revealed that the glamorous couple, are about to move from their present home in the fashionable Plaka district to a larger apartment, which is owned by her family.

Commentators reacted with disbelief on social media. Financial Times economics editor Chris Giles tweeted: 'The humanitarian crisis in Greece... Un-put-downable... Highlight of the morning.'

Economist Benn Steil, of the US Council on Foreign Relations, joked, 'Lifestyles of the rich and famous, Syriza edition', while Eric Maurice, of the European Journalists Association, also tweeted, 'Varoufakis has a good lifestyle but very bad PR.'

Varoufakis said he 'did not agree with the aesthetic' and regretted the photo shoot.

Upset: A video emerged this week claiming to show Varoufakis giving Germany the middle finger during a 2013 speech. It has since been claimed that the footage was doctored

Upset: A video emerged this week claiming to show Varoufakis giving Germany the middle finger during a 2013 speech. It has since been claimed that the footage was doctored

Many Greeks do not have enough money to put food on the table. According to a recent report by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), 17% of the Greek population is currently unable to meet their daily needs for food. Approximately 30% are living below the poverty line 

For the first time in generations doctors are seeing children and adults suffering from malnutrition. Officially 26 per cent of the working population is unable to find a job although in the poorest parts of Athens, unemployment has reached 60 per cent.

The article came just days after Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras asked Varoufakis and other ministers to spend more time working and less time giving interviews.

The professor has been toiling for weeks to clinch a new deal with Greece's dubious international creditors.

But he is struggled to make headway and the government has faced criticism at home for raiding the country's struggling pension funds.

And he was today faced with another PR disaster after he was accused of raising his middle finger to Germany ahead of crucial talks between Greece and EU leaders.

German comedian Jan Boehmermann had released a controversial video apparently showing the finance chief raising his middle finger to Germany.

Varoufakis denies making the sign and asked for an apology. Boehmermann later said the clip had been taken out of context. He released a satirical video apparently showing his team doctoring the footage, but it is unclear whether the footage is indeed real.

MailOnline has contacted Mr Varoufakis and his Syriza party for comment but they are yet to reply.

Greece's finance minister puts holiday home up for rent for £5k A WEEK

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