Tsipras defends Varoufakis on Plan B, but not on his fashion choices

Author: newsroom  | Published: August 1, 2015

Rather than keep a distance on the matter, the Prime Minister A. Tsipras claimed responsibility for being the one to urge Yanis Varoufakis to come up with a contingency plan

By Yiannis Makrygiannis

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras answered questions in Greek Parliament on Friday related to Plan B. During question time, he backed former finance minister Yanis Varoufakis, stating that he had been the one who had asked for a contingency plan in case of a collapse in talks with Greece’s creditors. Credible sources point to a secret meeting on Monday night between Tsipras, Varoufakis and Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos, who retains cordial relations with his predecessor.
Those who know the inner workings of SYRIZA ascertain that the former finance minister was probably the one who called for the meeting so that he could have a clear idea of what Tsipras planned to do concerning an effort to criminalize Varoufakis’ efforts for a back-up plan.

Varoufakis is not the only one who is worried. The Prime Minister is concerned that the press reports may influence the negotiation currently taking place. Reports point to an honest meeting that led to a convergence of views.

Accounts concerning the meeting were merely confirmed during question time in Greek Parliament. When socialist PASOK leader Fofi Gennimata focused on Plan B during the “Prime Minister’s Hour”, Tsipras did not distance himself from Plan B and downplayed the role of Varoufakis on the matter.

Tsipras not only defended the former finance minister’s movements, but went a step further, stating that he had been the one to have urged Varoufakis to “create a group to investigate a defence plan in case of an emergency.” He clarified that the plan had never been aimed at a Grexit but in case the country faced problems due to the efforts of hardliners in the EU pushing for Greece to be ousted or end up in a deadlock.

For the first time, Tsipras defended Varoufakis concerning the plan interpreted as the “hacking” into citizen’s tax codes. Until now, the SYRIZA leadership had been reluctant to make a statement concerning the specific actions that had been attributed to the former finance minister. The prime minister, however, went one step further by defending the plans that the finance ministry and a group of partners had worked on early in July.