In a freshly published personal account, named Ithaki, the former premier Alexis Tsipras pulls no punches while he reflects on the chaotic era during Greece's economic turmoil.
An Unconventional Choice
According to Tsipras's account, he selected the unorthodox economist Yanis Varoufakis as his treasury head largely because of his global profile along with Varoufakis's highly compelling skills as a public orator.
“He was, truthfully, more like a personality and less of an economic expert,” wrote the 51-year-old.
Clashing Agendas
The former leader suggests how his finance chief possessed his own motives that involved advancing his publications and testing out his economic models using the nation rather than truly fighting for the country's economic stability.
Tsipras explained that those talks to avoid insolvency were “not only a way of achieving a better deal for Greece. They were an experiment, an historic opportunity to prove the truth of Varoufakis's economic theories.”
Critical Negotiations
Amid tense negotiations, Greece found itself dangerously close to exiting the single currency area.
On the line lay not only the country's destiny but also those punishing austerity measures demanded in exchange for financial aid by international creditors.
Failed Alternatives
Attempts to find funds from other sources, including an urgent appeal to the Kremlin to purchase Greek bonds, fell on stony ground.
Assisting Greece was equivalent to throwing money in the trash-can, Putin is reputed to have informed Tsipras in Moscow.
Referendum Followed by U-Turn
In July 2015, those excoriating bailout terms were subjected to a public vote, an action that plunged the EU into deeper existential crisis.
Even though the vote was carried decisively by those against austerity, the prime minister was forced to ignore the result then negotiate a rescue deal from creditors which proved to be tougher.
Final Straw
The ex-PM revealed that he began to doubt his finance minister relatively soon.
“Varoufakis was the public image of the talks, the figure who attracted publicity, who graced the covers of magazines globally … it seemed he was enjoying his new role.”
When Varoufakis proposed a backup strategy involving creating a secondary currency as well as issuing vouchers to pensioners, Tsipras knew it was game over questioning Varoufakis: “Can you be serious?”
Enduring Rebuke
Within the book, Tsipras concludes that Varoufakis demonstrated himself “unfit for a deal demanding complex and delicate management.”
He also wrote that Varoufakis's confrontational approach made him more and more alone with colleagues, endangered the country, while helped hawks who were advocating a Greek exit from the euro.
This account of history has provoked fury along with shock among certain groups, whereas Varoufakis has kept a deafening silence regarding these claims.
