In a newly released personal account, titled Ithaki, the former prime minister Alexis Tsipras does not hold back as he revisits that turbulent period of Greece's debt drama.
A Controversial Appointment
According to Tsipras's version, Tsipras chose the maverick academic Varoufakis as the treasury head mainly due to the latter's worldwide fame along with Varoufakis's very persuasive skills as a communicator.
“He was, truthfully, more like a personality and less of an economist,” wrote the 51-year-old.
Clashing Priorities
The former leader suggests how Varoufakis possessed a personal motives which involved promoting his books and experimenting with his game theories using Greece rather than truly advocating the country's financial survival.
Tsipras explained that the talks to avoid bankruptcy became “not only a method to secure a better deal for the country. They became a test, an historic chance to prove the validity of Varoufakis's economic theories.”
Critical Talks
During tense discussions, Greece came perilously on the brink of exiting the single currency area.
At stake was both Greece's destiny and those harsh austerity measures demanded in exchange for bailout funds by foreign lenders.
Failed Options
Attempts to secure financing from other sources, including a desperate plea to the Kremlin to purchase Greek bonds, fell on stony ground.
Helping the indebted country would be equivalent to throwing money into the garbage, the Russian leader reportedly informed Tsipras in Moscow.
Referendum and Reversal
That summer, those punitive conditions were put to a popular referendum, an action that plunged Europe into deeper crisis of identity.
Even though the referendum was won resoundingly by those against the cuts, Tsipras was forced but to reject its outcome and negotiate a rescue deal with creditors that proved to be even harsher.
Breaking Point
Tsipras claimed that he started questioning his finance minister relatively soon.
“Varoufakis was the face of negotiation, the figure who attracted media attention, who graced the front pages of publications the world over … it seemed he was enjoying the spotlight.”
When the minister proposed a contingency plan that included establishing a secondary currency as well as distributing coupons to pensioners, Tsipras knew it was the end and asked him: “Is this for real?”
Enduring Rebuke
In the memoir, the author asserts that his former ally had proved himself “unsuitable for an agreement demanding complex and sensitive management.”
Tsipras also claimed that his aggressive approach left him more and more alone among peers, put Greece at risk, while helped hardliners that were advocating Grexit.
The account of history has provoked anger along with stunned disbelief in some quarters, while Varoufakis has so far maintained a conspicuous quiet regarding these claims.
