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In a freshly published personal account, called Ithaki, the former prime minister Tsipras does not hold back while he examines that turbulent period during Greece's economic turmoil.

A Controversial Choice

In the ex-PM's recollections, he appointed the maverick academic Yanis Varoufakis to be his treasury head mainly because of his international reputation along with his highly compelling skills when it came to speaker.

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

Conflicting Agendas

The former leader alleges how his finance chief possessed a personal motives which included promoting Varoufakis's books and testing out his own theories using Greece rather than genuinely fighting for its economic stability.

He explained that those talks to stave off bankruptcy became “not only a way of achieving a better deal for the country. They were an experiment, a monumental opportunity to prove the truth of his economic theories.”

High-Stakes Talks

Amid rollercoaster negotiations, Greece came perilously on the brink of exiting the eurozone.

On the line was not only the country's destiny and the harsh austerity policies demanded in exchange for rescue loans by international creditors.

Failed Options

Attempts to find funds from other sources, such as an urgent appeal to Russia to purchase Greek bonds, went unanswered.

Helping Greece was tantamount to tossing cash in the trash-can, Putin is reputed to have informed his Greek counterpart in Moscow.

Referendum and Reversal

That summer, those punitive conditions were put to a popular referendum, an action which threw the EU into a further crisis of identity.

Although the vote was won decisively by those who opposed the cuts, Tsipras was forced to reject its outcome then negotiate a rescue deal from foreign lenders which turned out to be tougher.

Final Straw

The ex-PM claimed that he began to doubt his finance minister relatively soon.

“He was the public image of negotiation, the figure who drew publicity, who appeared on the front pages of magazines globally … it seemed he relished the spotlight.”

After the minister outlined a contingency plan involving establishing a secondary currency as well as distributing vouchers to pensioners, the leader knew that it was game over questioning him: “Is this for real?”

Enduring Criticism

Within the book, the author concludes that his former ally demonstrated himself “unfit for a deal demanding intricate and delicate management.”

Tsipras further claimed how his confrontational style made him more and more alone among peers, endangered the country, and helped hawks that were pushing for Grexit.

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