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In a freshly published memoir, named Ithaki, the former prime minister Tsipras does not hold back while he reflects on the chaotic period of Greece's financial crisis.

An Unconventional Appointment

According to Tsipras's version, Tsipras selected the maverick economist Varoufakis to be the finance minister primarily because of his international reputation and Varoufakis's highly compelling abilities as a speaker.

“He was, in reality, more like a star rather than an economic expert,” wrote Tsipras.

Clashing Priorities

Tsipras alleges how Varoufakis possessed his own motives which included promoting Varoufakis's publications and testing out his own economic models using Greece rather than genuinely fighting for its economic stability.

Tsipras wrote that those discussions to avoid bankruptcy became “not only a way to secure a better deal for Greece. They were an experiment, an historic chance to demonstrate the validity of his ideas.”

Critical Talks

During tense negotiations, Greece came perilously on the brink of leaving the single currency area.

On the line lay not only Greece's destiny but also those punishing austerity measures demanded in exchange for bailout funds by foreign lenders.

Failed Alternatives

Attempts to find funds elsewhere, such as a desperate plea to the Kremlin to buy Greek bonds, went unanswered.

Assisting the indebted country would be equivalent to throwing money in the trash-can, the Russian leader reportedly informed his Greek counterpart during their meeting.

Referendum and U-Turn

That summer, those harsh bailout terms were put to a public vote, an action that threw Europe into deeper existential crisis.

Although the vote was carried decisively by voters against austerity, the prime minister had little option but to ignore the result and agree to a bailout package with creditors that proved to be tougher.

Breaking Point

The ex-PM revealed that he began to doubt his finance minister quite early on.

“Varoufakis was the face of the talks, the man who drew publicity, who appeared on the covers of publications the world over … he gave the impression he was enjoying the spotlight.”

After Varoufakis proposed a contingency plan involving creating a secondary currency as well as distributing coupons to pensioners, the leader knew it was game over and asked him: “Can you be serious?”

Enduring Rebuke

In the memoir, Tsipras asserts that Varoufakis demonstrated himself to be “unfit for an agreement demanding intricate and sensitive management.”

Tsipras also claimed that Varoufakis's confrontational approach left him increasingly isolated among peers, endangered the country, while assisted hawks who were advocating Grexit.

This account of events has provoked fury and stunned disbelief in some quarters, whereas the former minister has maintained a conspicuous quiet regarding these claims.