🔗 Share this article

Within his freshly published autobiography, titled Ithaki, the former leader Tsipras spares no criticism while he reflects on the chaotic period during Greece's economic turmoil.

A Controversial Appointment

According to Tsipras's version, Tsipras chose that unorthodox academic Varoufakis to be the treasury head primarily because of his worldwide fame and Varoufakis's “extremely attractive” skills when it came to speaker.

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

Clashing Agendas

Tsipras suggests that Varoufakis had his own agenda which involved advancing his books and testing out his own theories using the nation instead of truly advocating its financial survival.

Tsipras noted that those talks to stave off insolvency were “not just a way of achieving improved terms for Greece. They were an experiment, a monumental opportunity to prove the validity of Varoufakis's economic theories.”

Critical Talks

During rollercoaster negotiations, Greece came dangerously close to leaving the single currency area.

On the line lay both Greece's future and those severe austerity policies demanded in exchange for rescue loans from foreign lenders.

Failed Alternatives

Efforts to find financing from other sources, including an urgent plea to the Kremlin to purchase Greek government bonds, went unanswered.

Helping Greece was equivalent to throwing money into the garbage, Putin reportedly informed Tsipras during their meeting.

Public Vote and Reversal

In July 2015, those punitive conditions were subjected to a public vote, a move which threw the EU into a further crisis of identity.

Although the vote was carried resoundingly by voters against the cuts, Tsipras had little option to ignore the result then agree to a bailout package with creditors that turned out to be tougher.

Final Straw

The ex-PM claimed that he started questioning Varoufakis relatively soon.

“He was the face of negotiation, the figure who attracted publicity, who graced the covers of publications globally … it seemed he was enjoying the spotlight.”

When Varoufakis proposed a contingency plan involving establishing a secondary currency as well as issuing vouchers to retirees, the leader said he realised it was the end questioning Varoufakis: “Can you be serious?”

Enduring Rebuke

Within the memoir, the author asserts that Varoufakis had proved himself to be “unsuitable for an agreement that required complex and sensitive management.”

He also claimed how Varoufakis's aggressive approach left him increasingly isolated among peers, put Greece at risk, and assisted hardliners who were pushing for a Greek exit from the euro.

The account of history has provoked fury and stunned disbelief in some quarters, while the former minister has maintained a deafening silence regarding these claims.