In a recently unveiled memoir, called Ithaki, the former prime minister Tsipras pulls no punches while he revisits that chaotic era during Greece's financial crisis.
An Unconventional Appointment
In Tsipras's recollections, he appointed the unorthodox academic Varoufakis as the finance minister primarily because of his international reputation along with Varoufakis's “extremely attractive” skills when it came to communicator.
“He was, truthfully, more of a celebrity rather than an economic expert,” wrote Tsipras.
Clashing Priorities
The former leader alleges that his finance chief had a personal agenda that included promoting his books and testing out his own economic models on Greece instead of truly fighting for the country's financial survival.
He noted that the talks to stave off bankruptcy became “not only a method of achieving a better deal for the country. They became a test, an historic chance to demonstrate the validity of Varoufakis's theories.”
Critical Talks
During tense discussions, the country found itself perilously on the brink of leaving the single currency area.
At stake lay both the country's destiny but also the severe austerity policies demanded in return for financial aid by foreign lenders.
Failed Options
Attempts to find funds elsewhere, such as a desperate appeal to the Kremlin to buy Greek bonds, went unanswered.
Helping the indebted country would be tantamount to tossing cash in the trash-can, the Russian leader is reputed to have informed Tsipras in Moscow.
Referendum and U-Turn
In July 2015, those excoriating conditions were subjected to a public vote, a move that threw Europe into a further existential crisis.
Even though the vote was won resoundingly by those against the cuts, Tsipras was forced but to reject its outcome and negotiate a bailout package with creditors which turned out to be more severe.
Breaking Point
The ex-PM revealed that he began to doubt Varoufakis quite early on.
“He was the public image of the talks, the figure who drew publicity, who appeared on the covers of magazines globally … it seemed he was enjoying the spotlight.”
After the minister outlined a contingency plan that included creating a parallel currency as well as issuing vouchers to pensioners, Tsipras knew it was the end and asked Varoufakis: “Can you be serious?”
Enduring Criticism
In the book, the author asserts that his former ally demonstrated himself “unfit for an agreement that required intricate and delicate handling.”
Tsipras also wrote that Varoufakis's confrontational style left him increasingly isolated among peers, endangered the country, while helped hardliners who were advocating a Greek exit from the euro.
The account of history has been met with anger and stunned disbelief in some quarters, whereas the former minister has kept a deafening silence regarding these claims.
