Within his freshly published autobiography, named Ithaki, the ex- leader Tsipras pulls no punches as he revisits that turbulent era of Greece's economic turmoil.
A Controversial Choice
According to Tsipras's version, he selected the unorthodox economist Varoufakis as the treasury head primarily due to the latter's international reputation and his “extremely attractive” abilities as a public orator.
“In reality, he was, actually, more of a personality rather than an economist,” recalled Tsipras.
Conflicting Agendas
The former leader suggests how his finance chief possessed a personal motives which included promoting Varoufakis's books as well as testing out his theories on the nation instead of truly fighting for its economic stability.
He noted that the talks to avoid insolvency became “not only a way to secure a better deal for Greece. They became an experiment, a monumental opportunity to prove the validity of his ideas.”
Critical Talks
During tense discussions, the country found itself perilously close to exiting the single currency area.
At stake was not only Greece's future but also those harsh austerity policies required in return for bailout funds from foreign lenders.
Unsuccessful Options
Efforts to find funds elsewhere, including a desperate appeal to the Kremlin to buy Greek bonds, went unanswered.
Assisting Greece was tantamount to throwing money into the garbage, Putin is reputed to have informed his Greek counterpart during their meeting.
Public Vote Followed by Reversal
In July 2015, those excoriating conditions were put to a public vote, an action which threw the EU into a deeper existential crisis.
Even though the referendum was carried decisively by those who opposed the cuts, the prime minister had little option but to ignore the result and negotiate a bailout package from creditors that turned out to be more severe.
Final Straw
The ex-PM claimed that he began to doubt his finance minister quite early on.
“He was the face of negotiation, the man who drew publicity, who appeared on the front pages of publications globally … he gave the impression he relished his new role.”
After the minister proposed a backup strategy involving creating a secondary currency as well as distributing coupons to pensioners, Tsipras said he realised it was game over and asked him: “Is this for real?”
Lasting Rebuke
Within the book, the author concludes that Varoufakis demonstrated himself “unfit for an agreement demanding intricate and sensitive handling.”
He further claimed that Varoufakis's confrontational approach made him more and more alone among peers, put Greece at risk, while helped hawks that were advocating Grexit.
The retelling of history has been met with fury along with shock in some quarters, while Varoufakis has so far maintained a deafening silence on the matter.
