In a recently unveiled personal account, called Ithaki, the former leader Alexis Tsipras pulls no punches as he examines that turbulent era during Greece's economic turmoil.
An Unconventional Choice
In Tsipras's version, he appointed the unorthodox academic Varoufakis as his treasury head largely due to his global profile and Varoufakis's “extremely attractive” abilities when it came to speaker.
“In reality, he was, in reality, more like a celebrity rather than an economist,” recalled Tsipras.
Clashing Agendas
Tsipras alleges how his finance chief had a personal agenda which involved promoting his books and testing out his economic models on Greece instead of truly advocating its economic stability.
Tsipras explained that those talks to prevent insolvency became “not just a way of achieving a better deal for the country. They were an experiment, an historic opportunity to prove the truth of his economic theories.”
High-Stakes Negotiations
During volatile discussions, Greece came perilously on the brink of exiting the single currency area.
On the line was not only Greece's future and the punishing austerity measures demanded in return for rescue loans from international creditors.
Unsuccessful Alternatives
Efforts to find financing from other sources, such as a desperate appeal to the Kremlin to buy Greek government bonds, were rejected.
Helping Greece was equivalent to tossing cash in the trash-can, the Russian leader is reputed to have told his Greek counterpart during their meeting.
Public Vote and U-Turn
That summer, the punitive conditions were put to a popular referendum, a move which plunged Europe into a further crisis of identity.
Even though the referendum was won resoundingly by voters who opposed the cuts, the prime minister had little option to ignore the result then agree to a bailout package with foreign lenders that proved to be tougher.
Breaking Point
Tsipras revealed that he started questioning Varoufakis relatively soon.
“Varoufakis was the face of the talks, the man who drew publicity, who graced the covers of magazines the world over … he gave the impression he relished his new role.”
When Varoufakis outlined a backup strategy involving creating a parallel currency and issuing coupons to retirees, Tsipras knew that it was game over questioning him: “Are you serious?”
Lasting Criticism
In the book, Tsipras concludes that Varoufakis demonstrated himself to be “unfit for an agreement that required intricate and delicate management.”
He also claimed that his confrontational style made him more and more alone with colleagues, put Greece at risk, while assisted hawks that were advocating a Greek exit from the euro.
This retelling of history has provoked fury and stunned disbelief among certain groups, while Varoufakis has so far maintained a deafening silence regarding these claims.
