In a recently unveiled personal account, titled Ithaki, the former premier Alexis Tsipras does not hold back as he reflects on that turbulent era of Greece's financial crisis.
A Controversial Appointment
According to the ex-PM's recollections, Tsipras selected that maverick academic Yanis Varoufakis to be his finance minister largely because of the latter's worldwide fame along with Varoufakis's “extremely attractive” skills when it came to communicator.
“He was, actually, more of a celebrity rather than an economic expert,” wrote the 51-year-old.
Conflicting Agendas
The former leader claims that Varoufakis possessed a personal agenda that included advancing Varoufakis's publications and testing out his own game theories on the nation rather than genuinely advocating its financial survival.
He wrote how the talks to avoid insolvency became “not just a way of achieving a better deal for Greece. They were an experiment, an historic opportunity to demonstrate the truth of his ideas.”
Critical Negotiations
During tense negotiations, Greece came perilously on the brink of leaving the single currency area.
On the line was not only the country's destiny but also those punishing cutbacks demanded in return for rescue loans from foreign lenders.
Failed Alternatives
Attempts to find financing elsewhere, such as an urgent plea to Russia to buy Greek government bonds, were rejected.
Assisting the indebted country would be equivalent to throwing money in the trash-can, the Russian leader is reputed to have informed Tsipras in Moscow.
Public Vote Followed by U-Turn
In July 2015, the excoriating bailout terms were put to a public vote, an action that plunged Europe into deeper crisis of identity.
Even though the vote was won resoundingly by voters against austerity, Tsipras had little option to ignore the result and negotiate a rescue deal from foreign lenders which turned out to be tougher.
Breaking Point
Tsipras claimed that he began to doubt his finance minister quite early on.
“He was the public image of negotiation, the figure who drew publicity, who appeared on the front pages of publications globally … he gave the impression he was enjoying the spotlight.”
After Varoufakis proposed a contingency plan involving creating a secondary currency as well as issuing coupons to pensioners, the leader said he realised that it was game over and asked him: “Is this for real?”
Enduring Rebuke
In the book, the author asserts that his former ally demonstrated himself to be “unfit for a deal demanding complex and sensitive management.”
He also claimed that Varoufakis's confrontational style left him increasingly isolated with colleagues, put Greece at risk, and helped hawks that were advocating Grexit.
This account of history has provoked anger along with stunned disbelief in some quarters, whereas Varoufakis has kept a conspicuous quiet on the matter.
