A government minister has claimed that the leftist Syriza party had prepared a detailed operational plan in 2015 to transition Greece to the drachma, a scheme that allegedly included capping pharmaceutical prices and delaying civil servant salaries for one month.
Deputy Foreign Minister Haris Theocharis, speaking on ERTnews, revived the specter of the country's near-exit from the euro, asserting that the administration of then-Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras was "fully prepared" to abandon the common currency.
Mr. Theocharis cited ministry insiders who he said were ready to roll out emergency measures. He alleged the plan hinged on a parallel currency scheme devised by then-Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis, which would have paid three-quarters of public sector wages in restricted "digital scrip" usable only for tax payments.
"There was a full plan to go to the drachma," Mr. Theocharis said.
He added that Bank of Greece Governor Yannis Stournaras had later revealed that government officials were "knocking on the doors of printing companies" outside Europe to investigate banknote production.
The deputy minister, who served as the country's top tax official during the crisis, portrayed Mr. Stournaras as the bulwark that averted financial collapse.
The allegations come as Mr. Tsipras seeks to re-enter the political spotlight with his newly released book, "Ithaca."
Mr. Theocharis dismissed the memoir as a calculated political maneuver rather than a historical account.
"Those writing memoirs close cycles. This is different," he said, interpreting the book as a launchpad for a comeback bid.
Syriza officials have previously dismissed similar claims as recycled smears, though there was no immediate specific response to Mr. Theocharis’s latest detailed accusations regarding drug prices and salary delays.