🔗 Share this article

In a freshly published personal account, named Ithaki, the ex- prime minister Tsipras pulls no punches while he revisits that turbulent era of Greece's debt drama.

A Controversial Appointment

In Tsipras's version, Tsipras chose that unorthodox academic Varoufakis as the finance minister largely due to the latter's worldwide fame along with his “extremely attractive” skills as a communicator.

“In reality, he was, in reality, more like a star and less of an economic expert,” wrote the 51-year-old.

Clashing Agendas

The former leader alleges that Varoufakis had his own motives that involved promoting his publications as well as testing out his own economic models on the nation rather than truly fighting for the country's economic stability.

He noted how the talks to avoid bankruptcy were “not only a way of achieving improved terms for the country. They became an experiment, an historic chance to prove the truth of his theories.”

Critical Negotiations

During tense discussions, the country found itself dangerously on the brink of exiting the eurozone.

At stake lay both the country's future and those severe cutbacks required in exchange for rescue loans by international creditors.

Failed Options

Attempts to find funds from other sources, including an urgent appeal to the Kremlin to buy Greek government bonds, went unanswered.

Assisting Greece would be equivalent to tossing cash in the trash-can, the Russian leader reportedly told his Greek counterpart in Moscow.

Public Vote and Reversal

In July 2015, those punitive conditions were put to a popular referendum, an action that threw the EU into a further existential crisis.

Although the vote was carried resoundingly by voters who opposed the cuts, Tsipras had little option but to reject its outcome then negotiate a rescue deal with foreign lenders that turned out to be tougher.

Breaking Point

Tsipras revealed how he started questioning his finance minister relatively soon.

“Varoufakis was the public image of negotiation, the man who drew publicity, who appeared on the covers of publications the world over … he gave the impression he was enjoying the spotlight.”

After the minister proposed a contingency plan that included creating a parallel currency and issuing vouchers to retirees, the leader said he realised it was the end and asked him: “Is this for real?”

Enduring Rebuke

Within the book, the author asserts how his former ally had proved himself “unfit for a deal demanding intricate and delicate handling.”

He also wrote how Varoufakis's aggressive approach left him increasingly isolated with colleagues, endangered the country, while assisted hawks that were advocating a Greek exit from the euro.

The retelling of events has been met with fury along with shock among certain groups, whereas the former minister has so far kept a deafening silence regarding these claims.