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Within his freshly published autobiography, titled Ithaki, the ex- prime minister Alexis Tsipras pulls no punches while he revisits the chaotic period of Greece's financial crisis.

A Controversial Choice

According to Tsipras's recollections, Tsipras chose the maverick academic Yanis Varoufakis to be the treasury head largely due to his global profile and Varoufakis's very persuasive skills as a communicator.

“In reality, he was, actually, more like a star and less of an economic expert,” stated Tsipras.

Conflicting Agendas

The former leader claims that his finance chief possessed a personal agenda which included advancing Varoufakis's publications as well as experimenting with his own economic models using the nation rather than genuinely fighting for the country's economic stability.

He explained how those talks to avoid insolvency were “not only a way to secure a better deal for the country. They were an experiment, an historic opportunity to prove the validity of Varoufakis's economic theories.”

Critical Talks

During rollercoaster negotiations, Greece came dangerously close to exiting the single currency area.

At stake was not only the country's future but also the harsh austerity policies demanded in exchange for bailout funds by foreign lenders.

Unsuccessful Options

Efforts to secure financing elsewhere, such as an urgent appeal to Russia to buy Greek bonds, fell on stony ground.

Assisting the indebted country was equivalent to throwing money into the garbage, Putin reportedly informed his Greek counterpart during their meeting.

Referendum and U-Turn

In July 2015, the excoriating conditions were put to a popular referendum, a move which threw the EU into deeper crisis of identity.

Even though the vote was won resoundingly by those against austerity, the prime minister had little option to ignore the result then agree to a bailout package from creditors that turned out to be tougher.

Final Straw

Tsipras revealed how he started questioning his finance minister quite early on.

“He was the public image of the talks, the figure who attracted publicity, who graced the covers of magazines the world over … it seemed he relished the spotlight.”

When the minister outlined a backup strategy involving creating a secondary currency as well as distributing vouchers to retirees, the leader said he realised it was game over questioning him: “Are you serious?”

Lasting Criticism

Within the book, Tsipras concludes how his former ally had proved himself “unfit for a deal that required complex and sensitive handling.”

He further wrote how his confrontational approach made him more and more alone with colleagues, endangered the country, and helped hardliners that were advocating Grexit.

The account of events has been met with anger and stunned disbelief among certain groups, while Varoufakis has so far maintained a deafening silence regarding these claims.