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Within his freshly published memoir, titled Ithaki, the former prime minister Alexis Tsipras pulls no punches as he revisits that chaotic period during Greece's financial crisis.

A Controversial Choice

According to Tsipras's recollections, he selected that unorthodox economist Yanis Varoufakis to be the finance minister primarily due to the latter's global profile and his highly compelling skills when it came to communicator.

“In reality, he was, truthfully, more like a personality rather than an economist,” wrote the 51-year-old.

Conflicting Priorities

Tsipras claims how his finance chief possessed a personal motives which involved promoting his publications and experimenting with his own economic models on Greece rather than truly fighting for its financial survival.

He explained that those discussions to prevent bankruptcy became “not only a way of achieving improved terms for Greece. They were an experiment, an historic chance to demonstrate the truth of his theories.”

Critical Talks

Amid tense discussions, the country found itself dangerously on the brink of exiting the eurozone.

At stake was not only the country's future but also those severe austerity policies required in exchange for financial aid from foreign lenders.

Unsuccessful Options

Efforts to find financing elsewhere, including an urgent plea to Russia to buy Greek government bonds, fell on stony ground.

Helping Greece was equivalent to tossing cash in the trash-can, the Russian leader is reputed to have informed his Greek counterpart during their meeting.

Referendum and U-Turn

In July 2015, those excoriating conditions were subjected to a public vote, an action that threw the EU into a deeper crisis of identity.

Even though the vote was carried decisively by those who opposed the cuts, the prime minister was forced but to ignore the result and negotiate a rescue deal with foreign lenders which proved to be tougher.

Breaking Point

Tsipras revealed how he started questioning Varoufakis relatively soon.

“He was the public image of negotiation, the man who drew media attention, who graced the covers of magazines the world over … he gave the impression he relished the spotlight.”

When Varoufakis outlined a backup strategy involving establishing a secondary currency as well as distributing vouchers to pensioners, Tsipras said he realised that it was the end and asked him: “Is this for real?”

Lasting Rebuke

Within the memoir, the author concludes that Varoufakis demonstrated himself to be “unfit for an agreement that required intricate and sensitive handling.”

Tsipras further claimed how his confrontational approach left him more and more alone among peers, put Greece at risk, while assisted hawks who were pushing for Grexit.

This retelling of events has been met with anger along with stunned disbelief in some quarters, while Varoufakis has kept a conspicuous quiet regarding these claims.