Former Prime Minister Tsipras Asserts Yanis Varoufakis Proved ‘Unfit’ as Greece's Treasury Chief During Debt Crisis

In a recently unveiled personal account, called Ithaki, the former leader Tsipras does not hold back as he revisits that turbulent period of Greece's financial crisis.

A Controversial Appointment

According to Tsipras's version, he chose the maverick academic Yanis Varoufakis as the treasury head largely due to his worldwide fame and his very persuasive skills as a communicator.

“He was, truthfully, more of a personality and less of an economic expert,” stated the 51-year-old.

Clashing Agendas

The former leader claims how his finance chief possessed his own agenda that involved promoting Varoufakis's publications and experimenting with his own theories using the nation rather than truly fighting for its financial survival.

He explained that those talks to prevent bankruptcy became “not only a way of achieving a better deal for the country. They were a test, an historic opportunity to demonstrate the validity of Varoufakis's theories.”

Critical Talks

Amid volatile discussions, the country found itself dangerously on the brink of exiting the eurozone.

At stake was both the country's future and those punishing austerity measures demanded in exchange for bailout funds by international creditors.

Failed Alternatives

Attempts to find financing elsewhere, such as a desperate plea to the Kremlin to buy Greek government bonds, fell on stony ground.

Assisting the indebted country would be tantamount to throwing money into the garbage, Putin is reputed to have informed his Greek counterpart in Moscow.

Public Vote Followed by U-Turn

In July 2015, those excoriating conditions were put to a public vote, an action which plunged the EU into deeper existential crisis.

Although the referendum was carried resoundingly by voters who opposed the cuts, the prime minister was forced but to reject its outcome then negotiate a rescue deal with creditors which turned out to be even harsher.

Breaking Point

The ex-PM claimed how he started questioning his finance minister quite early on.

“Varoufakis was the face of negotiation, the figure who attracted media attention, who graced the covers of publications globally … he gave the impression he relished his new role.”

After the minister proposed a backup strategy that included creating a parallel currency and distributing coupons to retirees, the leader knew that it was game over and asked Varoufakis: “Is this for real?”

Lasting Rebuke

Within the memoir, Tsipras concludes that Varoufakis had proved himself “unsuitable for a deal that required complex and sensitive management.”

He further wrote how his confrontational style made him increasingly isolated among peers, endangered the country, and helped hawks that were advocating a Greek exit from the euro.

This retelling of events has provoked fury along with stunned disbelief among certain groups, whereas Varoufakis has kept a deafening silence regarding these claims.