Within his recently unveiled memoir, named Ithaki, the ex- prime minister Tsipras pulls no punches as he revisits that turbulent era of Greece's financial crisis.
An Unconventional Choice
As per Tsipras's account, he chose the unorthodox academic Yanis Varoufakis as the finance minister primarily due to the latter's international reputation and his very persuasive abilities as a speaker.
“He was, in reality, more like a celebrity and less of an economist,” stated the 51-year-old.
Clashing Priorities
Tsipras claims that Varoufakis possessed his own motives that involved advancing Varoufakis's books as well as testing out his economic models using the nation rather than truly advocating the country's financial survival.
He noted that the negotiations to prevent bankruptcy were “not only a method of achieving improved terms for Greece. They became an experiment, an historic opportunity to demonstrate the truth of Varoufakis's theories.”
High-Stakes Negotiations
During volatile negotiations, Greece found itself dangerously on the brink of leaving the single currency area.
At stake lay both Greece's future and the harsh austerity policies demanded in exchange for rescue loans from international creditors.
Unsuccessful Alternatives
Attempts to find financing from other sources, such as a desperate plea to the Kremlin to purchase Greek government bonds, fell on stony ground.
Assisting the indebted country would be equivalent to tossing cash in the trash-can, the Russian leader is reputed to have told his Greek counterpart during their meeting.
Referendum and Reversal
In July 2015, the excoriating bailout terms were subjected to a public vote, an action that threw the EU into a further existential crisis.
Although the referendum was carried resoundingly by voters against austerity, Tsipras was forced but to reject its outcome and agree to a bailout package from foreign lenders which proved to be more severe.
Final Straw
The ex-PM revealed that he started questioning his finance minister quite early on.
“Varoufakis was the face of negotiation, the man who attracted publicity, who appeared on the covers of magazines globally … it seemed he was enjoying the spotlight.”
After the minister proposed a contingency plan that included establishing a secondary currency as well as distributing vouchers to retirees, Tsipras said he realised that it was the end and asked him: “Are you serious?”
Lasting Rebuke
Within the memoir, the author concludes how his former ally demonstrated himself to be “unsuitable for a deal demanding complex and delicate handling.”
He further claimed how Varoufakis's confrontational style left him more and more alone among peers, put Greece at risk, while assisted hardliners who were advocating Grexit.
This retelling of events has been met with anger along with stunned disbelief in some quarters, whereas Varoufakis has maintained a deafening silence on the matter.
