🔗 Share this article

Within his recently unveiled personal account, named Ithaki, the former leader Tsipras pulls no punches as he reflects on the turbulent era of Greece's financial crisis.

An Unconventional Choice

In the ex-PM's recollections, Tsipras selected the unorthodox economist Varoufakis to be the treasury head largely because of the latter's worldwide fame along with Varoufakis's very persuasive skills as a public orator.

“He was, in reality, more of a personality and less of an economic expert,” recalled Tsipras.

Conflicting Priorities

The former leader alleges that Varoufakis had his own motives which involved advancing Varoufakis's books as well as testing out his own economic models using the nation rather than truly advocating its economic stability.

Tsipras noted how the talks to avoid insolvency were “not only a way of achieving a better deal for the country. They were an experiment, a monumental chance to prove the validity of his ideas.”

High-Stakes Negotiations

Amid rollercoaster negotiations, Greece came dangerously on the brink of leaving the single currency area.

At stake was not only Greece's destiny but also those punishing austerity policies demanded in return for rescue loans by foreign lenders.

Unsuccessful Alternatives

Efforts to secure funds elsewhere, including an urgent plea to the Kremlin to purchase Greek bonds, fell on stony ground.

Assisting Greece would be tantamount to tossing cash into the garbage, Putin is reputed to have told his Greek counterpart in Moscow.

Referendum and U-Turn

That summer, those punitive conditions were subjected to a popular referendum, an action that threw the EU into a deeper crisis of identity.

Even though the referendum was won resoundingly by voters against the cuts, Tsipras was forced but to reject its outcome then negotiate a rescue deal from foreign lenders which proved to be more severe.

Final Straw

The ex-PM revealed how he began to doubt his finance minister quite early on.

“He was the public image of negotiation, the figure who attracted media attention, who appeared on the front pages of publications the world over … he gave the impression he relished his new role.”

After Varoufakis proposed a contingency plan that included creating a parallel currency and distributing coupons to pensioners, Tsipras said he realised it was the end questioning him: “Are you serious?”

Enduring Rebuke

In the memoir, Tsipras concludes that Varoufakis demonstrated himself “unfit for an agreement that required intricate and delicate handling.”

Tsipras further claimed that his aggressive approach left him increasingly isolated among peers, endangered the country, while helped hawks who were advocating Grexit.

This account of events has provoked anger along with shock in some quarters, while Varoufakis has so far maintained a deafening silence regarding these claims.