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Within his freshly published personal account, called Ithaki, the ex- prime minister Alexis Tsipras pulls no punches as he examines the turbulent era during Greece's economic turmoil.

A Controversial Choice

According to the ex-PM's version, he appointed the unorthodox academic Varoufakis to be his treasury head largely due to his global profile along with Varoufakis's highly compelling skills when it came to communicator.

“He was, actually, more like a personality and less of an economic expert,” stated Tsipras.

Clashing Agendas

The former leader claims how his finance chief had his own motives which involved advancing Varoufakis's books as well as experimenting with his own theories on Greece instead of truly fighting for its financial survival.

He wrote how those discussions to stave off insolvency became “not just a method of achieving a better deal for Greece. They became a test, an historic chance to prove the validity of Varoufakis's economic theories.”

High-Stakes Negotiations

Amid volatile negotiations, the country found itself dangerously on the brink of exiting the single currency area.

At stake lay not only Greece's future and the punishing austerity policies demanded in exchange for financial aid by international creditors.

Failed Options

Attempts to find financing elsewhere, including an urgent appeal to the Kremlin to purchase Greek bonds, were rejected.

Assisting the indebted country would be equivalent to tossing cash in the trash-can, Putin reportedly informed his Greek counterpart during their meeting.

Public Vote Followed by U-Turn

In July 2015, those harsh bailout terms were put to a popular referendum, a move that plunged the EU into deeper existential crisis.

Although the referendum was carried resoundingly by those who opposed austerity, the prime minister was forced but to ignore the result and agree to a rescue deal with foreign lenders that proved to be more severe.

Final Straw

Tsipras claimed that he began to doubt his finance minister relatively soon.

“Varoufakis was the public image of negotiation, the figure who attracted media attention, who graced the front pages of magazines globally … it seemed he was enjoying the spotlight.”

When the minister outlined a backup strategy involving creating a secondary currency and distributing vouchers to pensioners, Tsipras knew that it was game over questioning Varoufakis: “Is this for real?”

Enduring Rebuke

In the memoir, the author concludes how Varoufakis demonstrated himself to be “unfit for a deal that required complex and sensitive handling.”

Tsipras further claimed that his aggressive approach made him more and more alone with colleagues, endangered the country, while helped hawks who were advocating Grexit.

This account of events has provoked anger along with stunned disbelief in some quarters, whereas Varoufakis has so far kept a deafening silence on the matter.