I think part of the problem with politicians is how we choose them. A government career politicians says nothing about their individual abilities, except for the fact that they are adept at public speaking.
On this point, Varoufakis, one of the founders of the DiEM25 movement that this article is implicitly referencing, recently said on a leftist podcast that part of the problem is the people you would want in government positions are those who don't want to stay there very long. That is, he views actual roles in power being viewed as something akin to jury duty a much healthier model than one where people want to become government ministers.
if you are making no judgement, then you are simply ignoring the evidence. I can make a judgement because his work affected me directly. It was an extremely negative outcome for 5 months of work. So the point that you mention is wrong. How can this be orthogonal?
I think a fair reading of my previous comment will reveal that I was trying to avoid engaging on the possible harm of his policies. That is not the same as absolving him. Instead, it is saying that you can evaluate his point independently of that question.