Within his newly released personal account, named Ithaki, the ex- leader Alexis Tsipras does not hold back while he revisits the chaotic era of Greece's financial crisis.
A Controversial Appointment
In Tsipras's recollections, Tsipras selected the maverick academic Yanis Varoufakis as the finance minister largely due to his worldwide fame and his very persuasive skills as a communicator.
“In reality, he was, in reality, more like a personality and less of an economic expert,” wrote the 51-year-old.
Conflicting Priorities
Tsipras suggests that Varoufakis possessed a personal agenda that involved promoting Varoufakis's books and testing out his own theories on Greece rather than genuinely fighting for the country's economic stability.
He wrote how the discussions to stave off insolvency became “not only a way of achieving a better deal for the country. They were an experiment, a monumental chance to prove the validity of Varoufakis's economic theories.”
High-Stakes Negotiations
Amid rollercoaster negotiations, Greece came dangerously on the brink of leaving the single currency area.
At stake was both the country's future but also the severe austerity policies required in exchange for bailout funds by international creditors.
Failed Options
Efforts to secure funds elsewhere, including a desperate plea to the Kremlin to purchase Greek bonds, fell on stony ground.
Helping Greece would be tantamount to throwing money into the garbage, Putin is reputed to have informed Tsipras in Moscow.
Referendum Followed by U-Turn
In July 2015, those excoriating conditions were put to a public vote, an action that threw the EU into further crisis of identity.
Even though the vote was won resoundingly by those against the cuts, the prime minister had little option to ignore the result and negotiate a rescue deal with creditors which proved to be tougher.
Final Straw
Tsipras revealed how he began to doubt his finance minister quite early on.
“Varoufakis was the public image of negotiation, the figure who attracted publicity, who appeared on the covers of magazines the world over … he gave the impression he relished the spotlight.”
When Varoufakis outlined a contingency plan that included establishing a parallel currency as well as distributing coupons to retirees, the leader said he realised that it was the end questioning Varoufakis: “Can you be serious?”
Lasting Criticism
In the memoir, Tsipras concludes how Varoufakis had proved himself to be “unsuitable for a deal that required complex and sensitive management.”
Tsipras also wrote that Varoufakis's aggressive approach left him more and more alone among peers, endangered the country, and assisted hardliners who were advocating a Greek exit from the euro.
This retelling of history has been met with fury along with stunned disbelief in some quarters, while the former minister has so far kept a conspicuous quiet regarding these claims.
