Within his recently unveiled personal account, called Ithaki, the ex- prime minister Alexis Tsipras spares no criticism while he examines that chaotic period during Greece's financial crisis.
An Unconventional Appointment
In Tsipras's version, Tsipras chose that maverick academic Varoufakis to be his finance minister mainly due to the latter's worldwide fame and Varoufakis's very persuasive skills when it came to communicator.
“In reality, he was, in reality, more of a celebrity and less of an economist,” recalled Tsipras.
Conflicting Priorities
Tsipras alleges that Varoufakis possessed his own agenda which included advancing his publications and testing out his game theories on Greece instead of genuinely advocating the country's economic stability.
He wrote how the talks to avoid insolvency became “not only a way of achieving improved terms for the country. They were a test, an historic chance to demonstrate the truth of his economic theories.”
Critical Talks
During tense negotiations, the country found itself perilously on the brink of exiting the single currency area.
At stake lay not only Greece's destiny and those punishing austerity measures required in return for bailout funds by international creditors.
Failed Options
Attempts to find funds elsewhere, including a desperate plea to the Kremlin to purchase Greek bonds, fell on stony ground.
Assisting Greece would be tantamount to tossing cash in the trash-can, the Russian leader is reputed to have told his Greek counterpart in Moscow.
Public Vote and U-Turn
That summer, those excoriating bailout terms were put to a popular referendum, an action that plunged the EU into a further crisis of identity.
Even though the referendum was won resoundingly by voters who opposed austerity, the prime minister had little option to ignore the result and negotiate a rescue deal with creditors that turned out to be more severe.
Breaking Point
Tsipras revealed how he began to doubt his finance minister relatively soon.
“He was the face of the talks, the figure who attracted publicity, who appeared on the front pages of magazines globally … he gave the impression he relished the spotlight.”
After Varoufakis proposed a backup strategy that included establishing a secondary currency and issuing vouchers to pensioners, the leader knew that it was game over and asked him: “Are you serious?”
Enduring Criticism
In the book, the author asserts that Varoufakis demonstrated himself “unsuitable for a deal that required complex and sensitive management.”
He also claimed that his confrontational approach left him more and more alone with colleagues, put Greece at risk, while assisted hawks that were pushing for a Greek exit from the euro.
The retelling of history has been met with fury along with stunned disbelief among certain groups, while Varoufakis has so far kept a deafening silence on the matter.