In a recently unveiled memoir, titled Ithaki, the former leader Tsipras pulls no punches as he examines the chaotic era during Greece's debt drama.
A Controversial Choice
According to Tsipras's recollections, he chose the maverick academic Yanis Varoufakis to be the finance minister mainly due to the latter's international reputation along with his very persuasive skills when it came to communicator.
“He was, actually, more of a celebrity and less of an economic expert,” recalled Tsipras.
Clashing Agendas
The former leader claims that Varoufakis possessed his own motives that involved promoting Varoufakis's publications and testing out his own economic models using Greece instead of truly advocating its economic stability.
He explained how those negotiations to prevent bankruptcy were “not just a way of achieving improved terms for the country. They became an experiment, a monumental opportunity to prove the truth of Varoufakis's ideas.”
Critical Negotiations
Amid volatile negotiations, Greece found itself perilously on the brink of exiting the single currency area.
On the line lay both the country's destiny and the severe austerity policies required in exchange for bailout funds by international creditors.
Failed Options
Attempts to find funds elsewhere, including a desperate appeal to Russia to purchase Greek bonds, went unanswered.
Helping the indebted country was tantamount to throwing money into the garbage, the Russian leader is reputed to have informed his Greek counterpart during their meeting.
Referendum Followed by Reversal
That summer, those excoriating conditions were put to a public vote, a move which threw Europe into further existential crisis.
Although the referendum was won decisively by voters who opposed the cuts, the prime minister was forced to reject its outcome and agree to a rescue deal with creditors which proved to be more severe.
Breaking Point
Tsipras claimed how he started questioning his finance minister quite early on.
“He was the face of negotiation, the man who attracted media attention, who appeared on the covers of publications globally … he gave the impression he relished his new role.”
When the minister outlined a contingency plan that included establishing a parallel currency as well as issuing vouchers to retirees, the leader knew it was the end questioning Varoufakis: “Are you serious?”
Enduring Rebuke
In the memoir, the author concludes how Varoufakis demonstrated himself to be “unfit for a deal demanding intricate and sensitive management.”
Tsipras also claimed that Varoufakis's confrontational style left him more and more alone with colleagues, endangered the country, and helped hawks that were pushing for Grexit.
The account of events has provoked anger along with shock in some quarters, whereas the former minister has maintained a conspicuous quiet on the matter.
