Within his newly released memoir, named Ithaki, the former prime minister Alexis Tsipras spares no criticism while he revisits the chaotic period during Greece's economic turmoil.
A Controversial Choice
In Tsipras's account, he selected the maverick academic Yanis Varoufakis as his finance minister largely because of his global profile and his very persuasive skills when it came to speaker.
“In reality, he was, in reality, more of a star and less of an economic expert,” wrote Tsipras.
Conflicting Priorities
The former leader claims that Varoufakis had his own motives which involved promoting Varoufakis's publications and testing out his own game theories on the nation rather than truly fighting for the country's economic stability.
He noted that those discussions to avoid bankruptcy became “not only a way to secure a better deal for the country. They were an experiment, an historic opportunity to demonstrate the truth of his theories.”
Critical Negotiations
Amid volatile negotiations, Greece came perilously close to exiting the eurozone.
At stake was both the country's future and those punishing austerity measures required in return for financial aid by international creditors.
Unsuccessful Options
Attempts to find funds from other sources, including a desperate plea to Russia to buy Greek bonds, were rejected.
Assisting Greece was equivalent to tossing cash into the garbage, the Russian leader reportedly informed Tsipras in Moscow.
Referendum Followed by Reversal
That summer, the punitive bailout terms were put to a popular referendum, an action that threw Europe into deeper existential crisis.
Even though the vote was carried resoundingly by voters against the cuts, the prime minister was forced but to ignore the result then negotiate a bailout package from foreign lenders that proved to be tougher.
Breaking Point
Tsipras revealed how he began to doubt his finance minister quite early on.
“Varoufakis was the face of the talks, the figure who drew publicity, who graced the covers of publications the world over … it seemed he relished his new role.”
When the minister proposed a contingency plan involving creating a parallel currency and issuing vouchers to retirees, the leader knew that it was game over questioning Varoufakis: “Is this for real?”
Enduring Rebuke
Within the memoir, Tsipras concludes how his former ally demonstrated himself to be “unfit for an agreement demanding complex and sensitive handling.”
Tsipras also claimed how Varoufakis's confrontational style made him increasingly isolated with colleagues, put Greece at risk, while assisted hawks who were advocating a Greek exit from the euro.
The account of events has been met with anger along with shock in some quarters, while Varoufakis has maintained a deafening silence regarding these claims.
