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In a recently unveiled personal account, titled Ithaki, the former leader Tsipras pulls no punches while he revisits the turbulent era during Greece's debt drama.

An Unconventional Choice

According to the ex-PM's account, he chose that unorthodox economist Yanis Varoufakis to be his treasury head mainly due to the latter's worldwide fame along with Varoufakis's “extremely attractive” skills when it came to speaker.

“He was, truthfully, more like a personality and less of an economic expert,” wrote the 51-year-old.

Conflicting Agendas

Tsipras alleges how his finance chief possessed his own agenda that involved promoting his books and experimenting with his economic models on Greece rather than truly advocating its economic stability.

Tsipras wrote how those discussions to stave off bankruptcy were “not just a method of achieving a better deal for Greece. They were a test, an historic opportunity to demonstrate the validity of Varoufakis's ideas.”

Critical Negotiations

During tense negotiations, Greece came dangerously close to leaving the single currency area.

At stake lay both Greece's future but also those severe cutbacks demanded in exchange for financial aid from foreign lenders.

Unsuccessful Options

Efforts to secure financing elsewhere, such as an urgent appeal to the Kremlin to buy Greek government bonds, went unanswered.

Helping Greece was tantamount to tossing cash into the garbage, the Russian leader is reputed to have told Tsipras during their meeting.

Public Vote Followed by Reversal

That summer, those excoriating bailout terms were subjected to a popular referendum, an action that threw the EU into a deeper existential crisis.

Even though the referendum was won resoundingly by voters who opposed the cuts, Tsipras had little option to ignore the result then negotiate a bailout package from creditors which turned out to be more severe.

Breaking Point

The ex-PM claimed how he started questioning Varoufakis relatively soon.

“Varoufakis was the face of the talks, the figure who attracted media attention, who graced the covers of publications globally … it seemed he was enjoying his new role.”

When the minister outlined a backup strategy involving creating a parallel currency and issuing vouchers to pensioners, Tsipras knew it was the end questioning Varoufakis: “Can you be serious?”

Lasting Rebuke

In the memoir, Tsipras asserts that his former ally demonstrated himself “unfit for a deal demanding complex and delicate management.”

Tsipras further wrote that his aggressive style made him more and more alone among peers, endangered the country, while assisted hardliners who were advocating a Greek exit from the euro.

This retelling of history has been met with fury and stunned disbelief in some quarters, while the former minister has so far maintained a conspicuous quiet on the matter.