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In a recently unveiled personal account, titled Ithaki, the former prime minister Alexis Tsipras spares no criticism while he examines the turbulent period of Greece's economic turmoil.

An Unconventional Choice

As per Tsipras's recollections, he appointed the unorthodox academic Varoufakis to be the finance minister primarily because of his global profile along with his “extremely attractive” skills when it came to public orator.

“He was, truthfully, more like a personality rather than an economist,” recalled the 51-year-old.

Conflicting Priorities

Tsipras suggests that Varoufakis possessed a personal motives which included advancing his books as well as testing out his own economic models using Greece rather than genuinely fighting for the country's financial survival.

Tsipras noted how the talks to avoid insolvency became “not only a method to secure improved terms for the country. They became an experiment, a monumental opportunity to demonstrate the validity of Varoufakis's theories.”

Critical Talks

During volatile negotiations, Greece came perilously on the brink of exiting the single currency area.

On the line lay both the country's future and the harsh austerity policies required in return for rescue loans by foreign lenders.

Unsuccessful Options

Efforts to secure funds from other sources, including a desperate plea to the Kremlin to buy Greek government bonds, went unanswered.

Helping Greece would be tantamount to tossing cash in the trash-can, the Russian leader is reputed to have informed his Greek counterpart in Moscow.

Public Vote Followed by Reversal

That summer, the punitive conditions were put to a popular referendum, a move which threw Europe into a further existential crisis.

Although the referendum was carried resoundingly by those against austerity, the prime minister was forced but to reject its outcome and agree to a bailout package from foreign lenders that proved to be more severe.

Final Straw

Tsipras claimed that he began to doubt Varoufakis quite early on.

“Varoufakis was the face of the talks, the man who drew media attention, who graced the covers of magazines the world over … he gave the impression he was enjoying the spotlight.”

When Varoufakis outlined a contingency plan that included establishing a secondary currency as well as issuing coupons to retirees, Tsipras knew that it was game over questioning him: “Are you serious?”

Lasting Criticism

In the book, Tsipras asserts that his former ally demonstrated himself “unfit for a deal demanding intricate and delicate handling.”

He also claimed how Varoufakis's confrontational approach made him more and more alone among peers, endangered the country, while assisted hardliners that were advocating Grexit.

This retelling of history has been met with fury along with shock in some quarters, while the former minister has kept a conspicuous quiet regarding these claims.