Yanis Varoufakis, the firebrand economist who rose to fame at the height of Greece’s debt drama, was not only egotistical but ultimately more interested in testing out his game theories on the nation than winning its battle to keep afloat.
So writes the former prime minister Alexis Tsipras in his newly released memoir, Ithaki, as the once radical leftwing leader, sparing no punches, seeks, 10 years later, to put the record straight.
“He was, in reality, more of a celebrity and less of an economist,” recalled the 51-year-old, who described handpicking the maverick as his finance minister because of his international reputation and “extremely attractive” skills as a public orator.
“I wanted an honourable agreement within the eurozone,” Tsipras wrote, “but we also didn’t hide the fact that we wanted radical change in Europe, that we wanted to stop the imposition of the economic absurdity of neoliberalism not only in Greece but from one end of the continent to the other.”
“I wanted to send the message of hard negotiation, but I underestimated the human factor. Very quickly, Varoufakis turned from being an asset into a negative protagonist. Not only could our potential allies not stand him, neither could his own colleagues.”
In a chronicle of events that has been quick to send ripples through Greece, Tsipras, who appears bent on staging a political comeback two years after renouncing the leadership of the Syriza party, said it was clear the Greek Australian academic had a personal agenda that included promoting his books.
Negotiations to stave off bankruptcy were “not just a way of achieving a better deal for the country. They were an experiment, an historic opportunity to prove the truth of his economic theories,” Tsipras wrote.
During rollercoaster talks that pitted the two men against Germany’s late economic tsar, Wolfgang Schauble and other fiscal hawks, Greece came perilously close to exiting the eurozone.
“Varoufakis had proved himself to be unsuitable for an agreement that required complex and delicate handling,” he claimed, adding he had begun to doubt his finance minister quite early on.
“He was the face of negotiation, the man who attracted publicity, who graced the covers of magazines the world over … he gave the impression he was enjoying his new role.”
When Varoufakis outlined a contingency plan that included establishing a parallel currency and distributing vouchers to pensioners – as a way of strong-arming creditors to meet Greek demands – Tsipras said he realised it was game over, and asked Varoufakis: “Are you serious?”
Ahead of the book’s long-awaited launch, the politician had declared it was time for his voice to be heard.
And in a tome that recounts the behind-the-scenes meeting that led to his controversial decision to form a coalition with a populist rightwinger, to the groundbreaking deal to end the long-running dispute over the then-called Macedonia’s name, he does not disappoint.
But it is a retelling of history that has been met with fury and stunned disbelief. And in the case of Varoufakis, who has since won international acclaim as a bestselling author, deafening silence.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/nov/25/alexis-tsipras-says-yanis-varoufakis-was-unsuitable-greek-debt-drama-minister