Within his freshly published autobiography, named Ithaki, the former prime minister Tsipras does not hold back while he reflects on the chaotic era during Greece's financial crisis.
A Controversial Appointment
In Tsipras's account, he appointed that unorthodox academic Varoufakis to be his finance minister largely due to his international reputation and his very persuasive abilities when it came to communicator.
“In reality, he was, in reality, more like a star and less of an economist,” stated the 51-year-old.
Conflicting Priorities
The former leader alleges how Varoufakis had his own motives that involved promoting his publications and experimenting with his own economic models using the nation rather than genuinely advocating its economic stability.
Tsipras noted that those talks to avoid bankruptcy were “not only a method to secure a better deal for the country. They became an experiment, an historic opportunity to prove the truth of Varoufakis's ideas.”
Critical Talks
During rollercoaster negotiations, 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 punishing austerity measures required in return for financial aid by foreign lenders.
Unsuccessful Alternatives
Efforts to find funds elsewhere, including a desperate plea to the Kremlin to purchase Greek government bonds, went unanswered.
Helping Greece would be tantamount to throwing money into the garbage, the Russian leader reportedly informed his Greek counterpart in Moscow.
Referendum and Reversal
That summer, those punitive conditions were subjected to a public vote, an action that threw the EU into a further crisis of identity.
Although the vote was carried resoundingly by those against the cuts, Tsipras was forced but to ignore the result and agree to a bailout package from creditors which proved to be more severe.
Final Straw
The ex-PM claimed that he began to doubt his finance minister relatively soon.
“Varoufakis was the public image of the talks, the figure who drew media attention, who graced the covers of publications the world over … he gave the impression he was enjoying the spotlight.”
After the minister outlined a backup strategy involving creating a secondary currency and issuing coupons to retirees, Tsipras knew that it was game over and asked Varoufakis: “Are you serious?”
Lasting Criticism
Within the memoir, Tsipras asserts how Varoufakis had proved himself “unsuitable for a deal demanding complex and sensitive management.”
He also claimed that his aggressive approach left him more and more alone with colleagues, endangered the country, while helped hardliners that were pushing for Grexit.
This retelling of events has provoked anger and stunned disbelief in some quarters, while the former minister has kept a deafening silence on the matter.
