In a newly released personal account, titled Ithaki, the former prime minister Alexis Tsipras pulls no punches as he reflects on the turbulent period of Greece's debt drama.
An Unconventional Appointment
According to the ex-PM's version, he chose the maverick academic Varoufakis to be his finance minister primarily because of his international reputation along with his very persuasive abilities when it came to speaker.
“He was, actually, more of a celebrity rather than an economist,” recalled the 51-year-old.
Clashing Agendas
Tsipras suggests how his finance chief had a personal agenda which involved advancing his books as well as experimenting with his theories on Greece instead of genuinely advocating its financial survival.
Tsipras noted that those talks to stave off bankruptcy were “not only a way to secure a better deal for the country. They became a test, an historic chance to demonstrate the validity of his economic theories.”
Critical Negotiations
Amid tense negotiations, Greece found itself perilously on the brink of exiting the eurozone.
At stake lay not only the country's destiny and the punishing austerity measures required in exchange for rescue loans by international creditors.
Failed Options
Efforts to find financing elsewhere, such as a desperate plea to Russia to buy Greek bonds, fell on stony ground.
Assisting the indebted country would be tantamount to throwing money in the trash-can, Putin reportedly told Tsipras in Moscow.
Referendum and Reversal
In July 2015, those punitive conditions were subjected to a public vote, a move that threw the EU into a further existential crisis.
Even though the referendum was won decisively by voters against austerity, the prime minister had little option but to reject its outcome and negotiate a bailout package with foreign lenders which proved to be more severe.
Breaking Point
The ex-PM revealed that he began to doubt his finance minister quite early on.
“Varoufakis was the public image of negotiation, the man who drew publicity, who graced the covers of magazines the world over … it seemed he was enjoying the spotlight.”
When Varoufakis outlined a contingency plan that included establishing a secondary currency as well as issuing coupons to pensioners, the leader said he realised it was game over questioning Varoufakis: “Can you be serious?”
Enduring Rebuke
Within the book, Tsipras asserts how Varoufakis had proved himself “unsuitable for a deal that required intricate and sensitive management.”
Tsipras further claimed that Varoufakis's confrontational approach left him increasingly isolated with colleagues, put Greece at risk, and helped hawks that were pushing for a Greek exit from the euro.
This account of history has been met with fury and stunned disbelief in some quarters, while Varoufakis has so far maintained a conspicuous quiet on the matter.
