Yanis Varoufakis: Brexit Negotiations Like A Shakespearean Tragedy, "How Can Smart People Be So Deluded?"

Yanis Varoufakis, former Greek finance minister, resigned back in 2015 at the height of the crisis there. He has now written a book about the whole experience, Adults in the Room - and he spoke to Evan Davis about Brexit and the UK's general election.

"This is the way Brussels impedes negotiations," Varoufakis said about leaks this week regarding British PM Theresa May. "What they are going to be doing for the next two years is pushing London towards a defensive stance through leaks, distortions, and through a strategy of making Theresa May fight for her right, and the opporunity to negotiate. There will be no real negotiations."

About the "deep establishment" in Europe, Varoufakis said: "No, this is like a Shakespearean tragedy where everyone is trying to do what is right. It is like watching King Lear. You wonder, how can these smart people be so deluded. The characters... Juncker and Merkel, and the powers that be in Brussels, their greatest nightmare is a mutually advantageous agreement with Britain. In their mind, this would encourage others... possibly to get out of the EU."

"This is a political coordination failure of an immense degree."