Within his freshly published memoir, titled Ithaki, the ex- prime minister Tsipras pulls no punches while he revisits the turbulent era of Greece's debt drama.
A Controversial Choice
According to the ex-PM's version, he appointed the unorthodox academic Varoufakis to be the finance minister largely due to his international reputation and his very persuasive skills as a speaker.
“He was, actually, more of a star rather than an economist,” wrote the 51-year-old.
Conflicting Priorities
The former leader alleges how Varoufakis possessed a personal motives which involved promoting Varoufakis's publications and testing out his own economic models on Greece instead of truly advocating the country's financial survival.
He noted that those negotiations to prevent bankruptcy were “not only a way of achieving a better deal for Greece. They were an experiment, an historic opportunity to demonstrate the truth of his ideas.”
High-Stakes Negotiations
During rollercoaster negotiations, the country found itself perilously on the brink of exiting the eurozone.
At stake was not only Greece's destiny but also those punishing austerity policies required in return for rescue loans from international creditors.
Unsuccessful Options
Efforts to find financing elsewhere, including a desperate plea to Russia to purchase Greek bonds, fell on stony ground.
Helping Greece would be equivalent to tossing cash in the trash-can, Putin reportedly told his Greek counterpart in Moscow.
Referendum and Reversal
In July 2015, the harsh conditions were put to a public vote, an action that plunged the EU into deeper existential crisis.
Even though the referendum was won resoundingly by those against austerity, the prime minister had little option to ignore the result and negotiate a rescue deal from creditors that turned out to be more severe.
Breaking Point
Tsipras revealed that he started questioning his finance minister quite early on.
“He was the face of the talks, the figure who attracted media attention, who graced the covers of magazines the world over … it seemed he was enjoying the spotlight.”
When Varoufakis proposed a contingency plan involving creating a parallel currency and issuing vouchers to pensioners, the leader knew that it was the end questioning Varoufakis: “Is this for real?”
Lasting Rebuke
Within the memoir, Tsipras concludes how his former ally had proved himself to be “unfit for a deal demanding intricate and delicate management.”
Tsipras further wrote that Varoufakis's aggressive style left him increasingly isolated among peers, endangered the country, while helped hawks who were pushing for a Greek exit from the euro.
This retelling of events has provoked anger along with stunned disbelief in some quarters, while Varoufakis has maintained a deafening silence on the matter.
