In a newly released personal account, named Ithaki, the former leader Tsipras spares no criticism while he reflects on the turbulent era during Greece's financial crisis.
An Unconventional Choice
According to Tsipras's version, he chose the maverick economist Yanis Varoufakis as the finance minister primarily due to the latter's worldwide fame and his highly compelling skills when it came to public orator.
“He was, truthfully, more of a personality and less of an economist,” wrote Tsipras.
Conflicting Priorities
The former leader claims that his finance chief had his own motives which included advancing Varoufakis's publications as well as experimenting with his own theories using Greece instead of genuinely advocating its financial survival.
Tsipras noted that the talks to prevent bankruptcy became “not just a method to secure a better deal for Greece. They were a test, a monumental opportunity to demonstrate the truth of Varoufakis's theories.”
Critical Negotiations
During tense negotiations, Greece came dangerously on the brink of exiting the eurozone.
On the line was both Greece's future but also those severe cutbacks required in return for financial aid from international creditors.
Unsuccessful Options
Efforts to find financing from other sources, such as an urgent plea to Russia to buy Greek bonds, went unanswered.
Assisting Greece was tantamount to tossing cash into the garbage, the Russian leader is reputed to have told Tsipras in Moscow.
Public Vote Followed by Reversal
That summer, the excoriating bailout terms were put to a public vote, an action that plunged Europe into a deeper existential crisis.
Even though the vote was won decisively by those who opposed the cuts, Tsipras had little option to ignore the result and negotiate a bailout package with creditors which proved to be tougher.
Breaking Point
Tsipras claimed that he began to doubt his finance minister relatively soon.
“He was the face of negotiation, the figure who drew media attention, who graced the front pages of publications globally … it seemed he relished his new role.”
When Varoufakis outlined a contingency plan that included establishing a parallel currency and issuing coupons to retirees, Tsipras knew it was the end questioning him: “Are you serious?”
Enduring Rebuke
In the memoir, Tsipras asserts how his former ally had proved himself “unsuitable for an agreement that required complex and sensitive management.”
He further claimed how Varoufakis's confrontational style left him more and more alone among peers, endangered the country, while assisted hardliners who were pushing for a Greek exit from the euro.
This account of events has been met with anger and shock among certain groups, while Varoufakis has kept a deafening silence on the matter.
