In a newly released autobiography, called Ithaki, the ex- prime minister Tsipras does not hold back while he reflects on the turbulent era during Greece's economic turmoil.
An Unconventional Appointment
In the ex-PM's account, Tsipras chose that unorthodox academic Yanis Varoufakis as the treasury head primarily because of the latter's international reputation along with Varoufakis's “extremely attractive” abilities when it came to communicator.
“He was, truthfully, more like a star and less of an economic expert,” wrote Tsipras.
Conflicting Priorities
The former leader suggests how Varoufakis had his own motives that involved advancing Varoufakis's publications and experimenting with his own economic models using Greece instead of genuinely fighting for its financial survival.
Tsipras wrote how the negotiations to prevent bankruptcy became “not just a way of achieving improved terms for Greece. They became a test, an historic chance to demonstrate the validity of his economic theories.”
Critical Negotiations
During tense negotiations, Greece came dangerously on the brink of exiting the single currency area.
On the line lay both the country's destiny but also the harsh cutbacks required in exchange for financial aid from foreign lenders.
Failed Alternatives
Attempts to find financing from other sources, such as a desperate appeal to the Kremlin to purchase Greek bonds, fell on stony ground.
Helping Greece would be equivalent to tossing cash into the garbage, the Russian leader is reputed to have informed Tsipras in Moscow.
Public Vote and U-Turn
That summer, those excoriating bailout terms were put to a public vote, an action which threw Europe into a deeper existential crisis.
Even though the vote was won resoundingly by those who opposed the cuts, the prime minister was forced but to reject its outcome and agree to a bailout package from foreign lenders that proved to be more severe.
Breaking Point
The ex-PM claimed that he began to doubt his finance minister quite early on.
“Varoufakis was the face of the talks, the figure who drew media attention, who appeared on the covers of magazines the world over … it seemed he relished his new role.”
When the minister outlined a backup strategy that included creating a secondary currency and issuing vouchers to retirees, Tsipras said he realised it was the end questioning him: “Can you be serious?”
Enduring Rebuke
In the book, Tsipras asserts how Varoufakis demonstrated himself to be “unfit for a deal demanding complex and sensitive handling.”
Tsipras further claimed how Varoufakis's confrontational approach made him increasingly isolated among peers, put Greece at risk, and assisted hawks who were advocating a Greek exit from the euro.
This retelling of history has provoked anger and stunned disbelief in some quarters, while Varoufakis has so far kept a deafening silence regarding these claims.
