Former Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has published his 762-page memoir Ithaki, offering a candid account of Greece’s 2015 eurozone crisis and his fraught relationship with former Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis.
Tsipras reflects on his political rise with SYRIZA and admits he “underestimated the human factor” in appointing Varoufakis, whom he now describes as “more celebrity than economist.”
He says Varoufakis’ confrontational tactics heightened the real – though never seriously intended – threat of Grexit, noting that “not only could our potential allies not stand him, but neither could his own colleagues.”
Their split deepened when Varoufakis proposed a “Plan B” involving a parallel voucher currency, telling Tsipras: “Instead of giving money to pensioners and employees, we would print vouchers…” to which Tsipras replied, “Are you serious?”
Tsipras also recounts seeking financial help from Moscow, claiming Vladimir Putin dismissed the idea, saying he would rather give the money to an orphanage because giving it to Greece “would be like throwing it in the trash.”
Now outside parliament and having left SYRIA, Tsipras fuels speculation over a potential new political party.
Source: politico.eu
