In a freshly published memoir, named Ithaki, the former prime minister Tsipras spares no criticism while he revisits that turbulent period of Greece's financial crisis.
An Unconventional Choice
According to the ex-PM's account, Tsipras selected the unorthodox academic Varoufakis as his treasury head largely due to his international reputation along with Varoufakis's highly compelling abilities as a communicator.
“He was, in reality, more like a celebrity and less of an economist,” wrote the 51-year-old.
Conflicting Agendas
The former leader suggests how Varoufakis possessed a personal motives that involved promoting Varoufakis's publications and testing out his economic models using the nation instead of truly advocating its economic stability.
He wrote that the talks to prevent bankruptcy were “not just a way of achieving a better deal for the country. They were an experiment, a monumental opportunity to demonstrate the validity of Varoufakis's theories.”
Critical Negotiations
Amid volatile discussions, Greece found itself dangerously on the brink of exiting the single currency area.
At stake lay not only the country's destiny but also those punishing austerity measures demanded in exchange for bailout funds by foreign lenders.
Failed Alternatives
Attempts to secure funds from other sources, such as an urgent appeal to the Kremlin to buy Greek bonds, were rejected.
Helping Greece was tantamount to throwing money into the garbage, the Russian leader is reputed to have informed his Greek counterpart in Moscow.
Referendum Followed by U-Turn
In July 2015, the punitive bailout terms were subjected to a popular referendum, a move that threw Europe into a further existential crisis.
Even though the vote was won decisively by those who opposed austerity, the prime minister had little option but to ignore the result and negotiate a bailout package with creditors which turned out to be even harsher.
Final Straw
Tsipras claimed how he began to doubt his finance minister relatively soon.
“He was the face of negotiation, the man who drew media attention, who appeared on the front pages of magazines globally … he gave the impression he relished his new role.”
After the minister outlined a backup strategy that included establishing a secondary currency and issuing coupons to pensioners, Tsipras said he realised that it was the end and asked him: “Is this for real?”
Lasting Criticism
Within the memoir, the author concludes that his former ally demonstrated himself “unfit for a deal that required complex and delicate handling.”
He further claimed how Varoufakis's aggressive style made him more and more alone among peers, put Greece at risk, while assisted hawks that were pushing for Grexit.
This account of events has been met with anger along with stunned disbelief in some quarters, whereas Varoufakis has so far kept a deafening silence on the matter.
