In a newly released memoir, named Ithaki, the ex- leader Tsipras spares no criticism while he revisits the chaotic era during Greece's debt drama.
An Unconventional Appointment
According to the ex-PM's version, he chose the maverick academic Varoufakis to be the finance minister primarily because of his worldwide fame and his “extremely attractive” skills when it came to speaker.
“He was, in reality, more like a star rather than an economic expert,” recalled the 51-year-old.
Conflicting Priorities
Tsipras suggests that Varoufakis possessed a personal agenda that involved promoting his publications and testing out his own theories using the nation instead of genuinely fighting for its economic stability.
Tsipras explained that those talks to prevent insolvency became “not only a method to secure improved terms for the country. They were an experiment, a monumental chance to prove the validity of Varoufakis's economic theories.”
Critical Talks
During rollercoaster negotiations, Greece came perilously on the brink of exiting the single currency area.
On the line was both Greece's destiny and those harsh austerity measures required in exchange for rescue loans by international creditors.
Failed Options
Attempts to secure financing from other sources, including an urgent appeal to the Kremlin to buy Greek bonds, were rejected.
Helping the indebted country was tantamount to throwing money in the trash-can, the Russian leader is reputed to have told Tsipras during their meeting.
Referendum Followed by U-Turn
That summer, those excoriating conditions were subjected to a popular referendum, a move that threw the EU into deeper crisis of identity.
Even though the vote was won resoundingly by those against austerity, Tsipras had little option but to reject its outcome and negotiate a bailout package with creditors that turned out to be even harsher.
Final Straw
Tsipras revealed how he began to doubt Varoufakis quite early on.
“He was the face of the talks, the figure who attracted publicity, who graced the front pages of magazines globally … it seemed he was enjoying the spotlight.”
When the minister proposed a backup strategy that included establishing a secondary currency and distributing vouchers to retirees, Tsipras said he realised that it was game over questioning Varoufakis: “Can you be serious?”
Lasting Rebuke
In the memoir, Tsipras asserts that Varoufakis demonstrated himself to be “unsuitable for an agreement that required intricate and delicate handling.”
Tsipras also wrote that his confrontational style made him increasingly isolated among peers, endangered the country, while helped hardliners who were pushing for Grexit.
This retelling of events has provoked fury along with stunned disbelief in some quarters, whereas the former minister has so far kept a deafening silence on the matter.
