Within his freshly published autobiography, titled Ithaki, the ex- prime minister Alexis Tsipras spares no criticism as he examines the turbulent period during Greece's economic turmoil.
A Controversial Choice
According to Tsipras's account, Tsipras chose the unorthodox academic Yanis Varoufakis to be the treasury head mainly due to his global profile along with his highly compelling skills when it came to communicator.
“In reality, he was, in reality, more like a personality rather than an economic expert,” wrote Tsipras.
Clashing Priorities
The former leader alleges how Varoufakis had a personal motives which involved advancing Varoufakis's books and testing out his economic models using the nation rather than genuinely fighting for its economic stability.
He wrote that those discussions to avoid bankruptcy were “not only a method of achieving a better deal for Greece. They became an experiment, an historic opportunity to prove the validity of his theories.”
Critical Talks
During tense negotiations, Greece came dangerously on the brink of leaving the eurozone.
On the line was both Greece's future but also the punishing austerity measures demanded in exchange for bailout funds from foreign lenders.
Unsuccessful Options
Attempts to secure financing elsewhere, including an urgent appeal to Russia to buy Greek bonds, went unanswered.
Helping the indebted country was tantamount to tossing cash into the garbage, the Russian leader is reputed to have told his Greek counterpart during their meeting.
Referendum Followed by Reversal
That summer, the harsh conditions were put to a popular referendum, an action which threw the EU into further crisis of identity.
Although the referendum was carried decisively by voters against the cuts, Tsipras had little option to ignore the result and agree to a bailout package from creditors that proved to be more severe.
Breaking Point
Tsipras claimed that he began to doubt his finance minister relatively soon.
“He was the public image of negotiation, the man who drew publicity, who appeared on the covers of publications globally … it seemed he was enjoying the spotlight.”
After the minister proposed a backup strategy involving establishing a secondary currency and distributing vouchers to pensioners, Tsipras knew that it was game over and asked him: “Can you be serious?”
Enduring Rebuke
In the book, Tsipras concludes how his former ally demonstrated himself to be “unsuitable for an agreement demanding intricate and delicate handling.”
He further claimed how Varoufakis's confrontational style left him more and more alone with colleagues, endangered the country, while helped hardliners that were advocating Grexit.
The retelling of history has provoked anger along with shock in some quarters, whereas the former minister has so far kept a deafening silence regarding these claims.
