Betty Batziana: “I
told you not to trust Yanis, Alexis!
JULY 20, 2015 BY
GREEKNEWS /
http://www.newsingreece.com/protothema/betty-batziana-i-told-you-not-to-trust-yanis-alexis/
Prime Minister
Alexis Tsipras and former finance minister Yanis Varoufakis were
regulars at a Greek tavern on the isle of Aegina for two years. So it
was in the cold of April, 2015, that the two men met again, clinking
beer glasses in the name of their friendship. They were not alone.
Seated beside Yanis was artist Danae Stratou, the dazzling blonde
wife of the man dubbed the ‘rock star minister’ and the woman
rumored to have inspired the song “Common People”. Peristera
(Betty) Batziana was missing – as usual – for obvious reasons.
She is the mother of two young children with family obligations
giving her the perfect excuse to not be there.
Greece’s first
lady, however, known as the woman who ‘radicalized’ the PM has
surprisingly never participated in meetings between
Varoufakis-Stratou with her husband. Rather than stay at Varoufakis’
villa, the couple stayed at the modest lodgings of senior SYRIZA
minister Alekos Flambouraris.
Batziana’s friends
are miles away from the circles of power, with her closest confidants
being mainly women she met through her children – ordinary mothers.
Unlike Stratou, Batziana views social gatherings as something of a
chore. As couples, the Tsipras-Batziana duo are world’s apart from
Varoufakis-Stratou in both interest and style.
Not once did the
PM’s wife accompany him on outings with Varoufakis and on official
gatherings she chose “the little black dress”, prefering to draw
attention away from herself. Batziana is a woman of few words,
prefering actions. People who know her say she is the “male mind of
the family”, not one to fly in the clouds and always suspicious of
people making big promises that aren’t backed by actions.
The third bailout
dropped on Harmony Street, Kypseli, like a huge bomb. Batziana chose
to swallow it as a realist and tells friends. “Alexis is decided on
changing many things though nobody may believe it: He will be the
first to fight corruption like nobody has until now,” she says.
She silently blames
the “apolitical” Varoufakis for the nasty turn in Greece’s
negotiations with creditors. She was never a huge fan of the
flamboyant economist in the same way her husband was. When in Aegina,
she avoided meetings with the couple, and those who knew her were
aware that there was a deeper reason than the need to be with her
children. There was always a strange distance caused by political
differences between her and Varoufakis.
Batziana was also
bothered by Varoufakis’ narcissism. It wasn’t just the tight
shirts and red lines on his jackets that bothered him but the need to
always stand out from the crowd and draw attention from himself.
The turning point
for the worst came when the Varoufakis’ couple were spotted
enjoying strolls at the shores of Lake Como, chased by the paparazzi,
on the sidelines of a business conference in northern Italy. It was
at this moment that she realized that Varoufakis was seriously
harming SYRIZA’s image.
During their joint
trip to Paris, the two wives did not sit near each other on the
plane. The first lady chose to stay at the hotel while socialite
Stratou carelessly posted photos of herself shopping in Paris on
Instagram.
The final blow came
with the Paris Match shooting. That was when the rest of SYRIZA –
not just Batziana – realized that Varoufakis was tarnishing the
party’s reputation.
Varoufakis’
attraction on Tsipras as a valuable mentor was never the same for
Batziana. She could see the points worth admiring but was never
totally swayed. Tsipras, however, was charmed because he felt trapped
between State Minnister Nikos Pappas and reserved Giannis Dragasakis.
Tsipras needed him because he was not from SYRIZA’s inner core.
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