Within his newly released personal account, called Ithaki, the former prime minister Alexis Tsipras pulls no punches while he revisits the chaotic era during Greece's financial crisis.
An Unconventional Appointment
In Tsipras's version, he chose that maverick economist Varoufakis to be the treasury head largely due to the latter's worldwide fame and his “extremely attractive” skills as a speaker.
“He was, actually, more like a celebrity and less of an economist,” recalled the 51-year-old.
Conflicting Agendas
Tsipras alleges how Varoufakis possessed his own agenda that involved promoting Varoufakis's books and experimenting with his own economic models on Greece rather than genuinely advocating the country's financial survival.
Tsipras explained that those talks to avoid bankruptcy became “not only a way of achieving improved terms for the country. They were an experiment, an historic chance to prove the truth of Varoufakis's economic theories.”
Critical Negotiations
During rollercoaster negotiations, the country came perilously on the brink of leaving the single currency area.
On the line was both Greece's future but also the severe austerity policies required in return for bailout funds from foreign lenders.
Failed Options
Efforts to find funds from other sources, such as a desperate appeal to the Kremlin to buy Greek bonds, fell on stony ground.
Helping the indebted country would be equivalent to tossing cash in the trash-can, Putin is reputed to have told his Greek counterpart in Moscow.
Public Vote and Reversal
That summer, the excoriating bailout terms were put to a popular referendum, an action which plunged Europe into further existential crisis.
Even though the referendum was won resoundingly by voters against the cuts, the prime minister had little option but to reject its outcome then agree to a rescue deal from creditors that proved to be tougher.
Final Straw
The ex-PM revealed how he began to doubt his finance minister relatively soon.
“He was the public image of negotiation, the figure who drew publicity, who graced the front pages of magazines the world over … he gave the impression he was enjoying the spotlight.”
When the minister outlined a backup strategy that included establishing a secondary currency as well as distributing vouchers to pensioners, the leader knew it was game over questioning Varoufakis: “Is this for real?”
Lasting Criticism
In the book, Tsipras asserts that his former ally had proved himself to be “unsuitable for a deal demanding intricate and sensitive management.”
Tsipras further wrote how his aggressive style left him increasingly isolated among peers, endangered the country, while assisted hawks that were advocating Grexit.
This account of events has provoked anger along with shock among certain groups, whereas the former minister has so far kept a conspicuous quiet on the matter.
