Within his recently unveiled personal account, named Ithaki, the former leader Tsipras spares no criticism while he reflects on that chaotic era of Greece's debt drama.
A Controversial Appointment
According to the ex-PM's account, he chose the unorthodox economist Varoufakis as his treasury head mainly due to the latter's global profile along with his “extremely attractive” abilities when it came to communicator.
“In reality, he was, actually, more like a celebrity and less of an economic expert,” recalled Tsipras.
Conflicting Priorities
Tsipras alleges that his finance chief possessed his own agenda that included promoting Varoufakis's publications and testing out his own game theories using Greece rather than truly advocating the country's financial survival.
He explained that those discussions to avoid bankruptcy became “not only a method of achieving a better deal for the country. They became a test, a monumental chance to prove the truth of his ideas.”
Critical Negotiations
Amid tense negotiations, Greece found itself dangerously close to exiting the single currency area.
At stake lay not only the country's destiny and those harsh austerity measures required in exchange for rescue loans by foreign lenders.
Failed Alternatives
Efforts to find financing elsewhere, including a desperate plea to the Kremlin to purchase Greek bonds, were rejected.
Helping Greece would be equivalent to throwing money into the garbage, Putin reportedly informed his Greek counterpart during their meeting.
Referendum Followed by Reversal
That summer, those punitive conditions were put to a public vote, a move which threw Europe into a further existential crisis.
Even though the vote was carried resoundingly by those against austerity, Tsipras was forced but to reject its outcome then negotiate a bailout package with foreign lenders which proved to be more severe.
Final Straw
Tsipras revealed how he began to doubt his finance minister quite early on.
“He was the public image of the talks, the figure who attracted media attention, who graced the covers of publications the world over … it seemed he was enjoying his new role.”
When Varoufakis outlined a backup strategy that included creating a parallel currency and issuing coupons to retirees, Tsipras said he realised it was the end questioning him: “Can you be serious?”
Enduring Criticism
In the book, the author concludes that his former ally had proved himself “unfit for a deal that required complex and delicate handling.”
Tsipras also claimed how his aggressive approach left him more and more alone among peers, endangered the country, while assisted hawks who were pushing for a Greek exit from the euro.
This retelling of history has been met with anger along with stunned disbelief in some quarters, whereas Varoufakis has so far kept a conspicuous quiet on the matter.
