🔗 Share this article

In a freshly published autobiography, titled Ithaki, the former prime minister Tsipras pulls no punches while he reflects on that turbulent period during Greece's financial crisis.

A Controversial Appointment

According to the ex-PM's account, he chose that maverick economist Varoufakis as his treasury head mainly because of his worldwide fame along with Varoufakis's highly compelling skills as a communicator.

“In reality, he was, in reality, more like a personality rather than an economic expert,” stated Tsipras.

Conflicting Priorities

Tsipras claims how his finance chief possessed a personal motives that involved promoting his publications and experimenting with his theories using Greece rather than genuinely advocating the country's economic stability.

He noted that those talks to stave off insolvency became “not just a method of achieving a better deal for Greece. They became a test, an historic opportunity to prove the truth of his economic theories.”

Critical Talks

During rollercoaster discussions, Greece found itself perilously close to leaving the single currency area.

At stake lay not only the country's destiny but also those punishing cutbacks demanded in exchange for financial aid by international creditors.

Failed Alternatives

Efforts to secure funds elsewhere, such as an urgent appeal to Russia to buy Greek government bonds, fell on stony ground.

Helping the indebted country would be tantamount to throwing money into the garbage, Putin is reputed to have told Tsipras during their meeting.

Referendum and Reversal

That summer, those punitive bailout terms were subjected to a popular referendum, an action which threw Europe into a further existential crisis.

Even though the referendum was carried resoundingly by voters who opposed austerity, the prime minister had little option to ignore the result and negotiate a bailout package with creditors that proved to be even harsher.

Final Straw

Tsipras claimed how he started questioning his finance minister quite early on.

“Varoufakis was the public image of negotiation, the man who drew media attention, who appeared on the covers of publications globally … he gave the impression he was enjoying his new role.”

After Varoufakis outlined a backup strategy that included creating a secondary currency as well as distributing vouchers to pensioners, Tsipras knew it was game over questioning Varoufakis: “Can you be serious?”

Enduring Rebuke

In the book, Tsipras asserts that Varoufakis demonstrated himself “unfit for a deal that required complex and delicate handling.”

Tsipras further wrote that Varoufakis's aggressive style made him increasingly isolated with colleagues, endangered the country, while helped hawks that were advocating Grexit.

The account of events has been met with fury and shock among certain groups, whereas Varoufakis has so far kept a conspicuous quiet on the matter.