In a recently unveiled autobiography, called Ithaki, the former prime minister Alexis Tsipras does not hold back while he examines that chaotic era of Greece's financial crisis.
An Unconventional Appointment
As per Tsipras's version, Tsipras appointed the unorthodox academic Yanis Varoufakis as his finance minister mainly due to his global profile and Varoufakis's “extremely attractive” abilities when it came to speaker.
“He was, truthfully, more of a celebrity rather than an economic expert,” wrote the 51-year-old.
Clashing Agendas
Tsipras suggests that Varoufakis had his own agenda that included promoting his publications as well as testing out his own economic models on Greece rather than truly advocating the country's financial survival.
Tsipras noted that those discussions to avoid insolvency became “not just a method to secure improved terms for the country. They were an experiment, an historic opportunity to demonstrate the validity of his theories.”
High-Stakes Talks
Amid volatile negotiations, the country found itself dangerously close to leaving the eurozone.
At stake lay not only Greece's destiny and those severe austerity measures required in return for bailout funds by foreign lenders.
Unsuccessful Options
Attempts to secure funds elsewhere, including an urgent appeal to Russia to purchase Greek government bonds, were rejected.
Helping Greece was tantamount to throwing money in the trash-can, the Russian leader is reputed to have informed Tsipras in Moscow.
Public Vote and Reversal
That summer, the excoriating conditions were put to a popular referendum, a move which threw the EU into a further existential crisis.
Although the vote was carried resoundingly by voters who opposed austerity, Tsipras had little option to ignore the result and agree to a bailout package from creditors which turned out to be more severe.
Final Straw
The ex-PM revealed that he began to doubt Varoufakis relatively soon.
“He was the public image of negotiation, the figure who attracted media attention, who appeared on the front pages of magazines globally … it seemed he relished the spotlight.”
After the minister outlined a contingency plan involving establishing a parallel currency as well as issuing coupons to pensioners, the leader knew that it was the end and asked him: “Can you be serious?”
Enduring Rebuke
Within the memoir, the author concludes how his former ally demonstrated himself to be “unfit for an agreement demanding intricate and delicate management.”
He also claimed that his aggressive style made him increasingly isolated with colleagues, endangered the country, and assisted hawks that were advocating Grexit.
The retelling of history has provoked anger and shock in some quarters, whereas the former minister has so far kept a conspicuous quiet on the matter.
