Overview
- Tsipras released his memoir, titled Ithaki, on November 24, recounting his handling of the eurozone debt standoff and his decision-making during 2015.
- He sharply criticizes former finance minister Yanis Varoufakis as “more celebrity than economist,” saying he became a liability and that Tsipras underestimated the human factor.
- The book details private diplomacy: Vladimir Putin rebuffed a proposal to buy Greek bonds, Angela Merkel was left “speechless” over the referendum, and Barack Obama offered quiet guidance.
- Tsipras portrays the 2015 referendum as a “weapon” against national humiliation and says he never truly contemplated leaving the euro, though he acknowledges the Grexit risk was real.
- Reporting links the release to a potential comeback as he builds a new vehicle outside Syriza, with polls suggesting about 20% support for a new movement while Syriza polls near 5%.