In a freshly published memoir, titled Ithaki, the ex- prime minister Tsipras spares no criticism while he examines the turbulent period of Greece's financial crisis.
A Controversial Choice
As per the ex-PM's version, he chose the unorthodox economist Varoufakis as the finance minister primarily due to the latter's global profile and his highly compelling abilities when it came to communicator.
“He was, actually, more of a star rather than an economist,” recalled the 51-year-old.
Conflicting Priorities
The former leader claims how his finance chief possessed a personal motives that included promoting Varoufakis's publications as well as experimenting with his own theories using the nation rather than genuinely advocating its economic stability.
Tsipras noted how the negotiations to prevent bankruptcy became “not only a method of achieving a better deal for the country. They became an experiment, a monumental opportunity to prove the truth of his theories.”
Critical Negotiations
Amid tense negotiations, Greece came dangerously on the brink of exiting the single currency area.
At stake was not only the country's destiny but also the severe austerity measures demanded in return for rescue loans by international creditors.
Failed Options
Efforts to secure funds from other sources, such as a desperate plea to the Kremlin to purchase Greek bonds, fell on stony ground.
Assisting Greece was equivalent to throwing money in the trash-can, Putin reportedly informed his Greek counterpart in Moscow.
Public Vote Followed by Reversal
That summer, those excoriating bailout terms were put to a popular referendum, an action which threw the EU into further crisis of identity.
Even though the referendum was won decisively by voters against austerity, Tsipras was forced to ignore the result then negotiate a bailout package from foreign lenders which proved to be tougher.
Breaking Point
The ex-PM revealed how he began to doubt his finance minister quite early on.
“He was the public image of negotiation, the figure who attracted publicity, who appeared on the covers of magazines the world over … it seemed he was enjoying the spotlight.”
When Varoufakis proposed a contingency plan that included establishing a secondary currency as well as issuing coupons to retirees, the leader said he realised that it was game over questioning him: “Is this for real?”
Enduring Rebuke
In the book, Tsipras asserts that Varoufakis demonstrated himself to be “unfit for a deal that required complex and delicate management.”
He further wrote that Varoufakis's confrontational style made him increasingly isolated with colleagues, put Greece at risk, while helped hawks that were advocating Grexit.
This account of events has provoked fury along with stunned disbelief among certain groups, whereas the former minister has so far maintained a deafening silence on the matter.
