An increasingly combative Yanis Varoufakis responded within hours on Monday to a high-profile interview of Greek PM Alexis Tsipras in the “Guardian”, using the same outlet’s electronic pages to disparage his one-time political boss’ criticism of his (Varoufakis) advise and strategy, especially towards the end of the leftist government’sshambolic six-month negotiations with creditors.
Among others, Varoufakis responded on Monday by saying: “…arguing, as Mr Tsipras does, that I was both the right choice for the initial confrontation and that my plan B was so vague it wasn’t worth the trouble of even talking about is disingenuous, albeit insightful, for it reveals the impossibility of maintaining a radical critique of his predecessors while adopting the Tina (There Is No Alternative) doctrine.”
The controversial one-time Greek finance minister has solidified his standing as a “celebrity economist” and maverick gadfly of the Euro zone establishment with his very recent best-selling book, “Adults in the Room”, which recounts leftist SYRIZA’s populist rise to power from an anti-austerity and anti-bailout formation and what followed after its January 2015 election, the annus horribilis of Greece’s crisis years.
Varoufakis’ response to Tsipras can be found here:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/jul/24/alexis-tsiprass-mixed-messages-over-appointing-me-as-finance-minister
