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Within his newly released autobiography, called Ithaki, the former leader Tsipras pulls no punches while he revisits that turbulent period during Greece's debt drama.

A Controversial Choice

In Tsipras's account, Tsipras appointed the maverick academic Yanis Varoufakis to be his finance minister mainly due to his worldwide fame along with his “extremely attractive” skills when it came to communicator.

“He was, actually, more of a personality rather than an economist,” wrote the 51-year-old.

Conflicting Priorities

Tsipras claims how Varoufakis possessed his own motives which included promoting his books as well as testing out his own economic models on Greece instead of truly fighting for the country's financial survival.

Tsipras explained how those discussions to stave off bankruptcy were “not just a way to secure a better deal for Greece. They were an experiment, a monumental opportunity to prove the validity of his economic theories.”

Critical Negotiations

During volatile discussions, Greece found itself perilously on the brink of exiting the single currency area.

On the line lay not only the country's destiny and those harsh cutbacks required in exchange for bailout funds from international creditors.

Unsuccessful Alternatives

Efforts to find financing from other sources, such as an urgent plea to the Kremlin to buy Greek government bonds, were rejected.

Helping Greece was tantamount to throwing money into the garbage, the Russian leader reportedly told his Greek counterpart during their meeting.

Public Vote Followed by Reversal

That summer, those punitive bailout terms were put to a public vote, an action which plunged the EU into further crisis of identity.

Even though the vote was carried decisively by those against the cuts, Tsipras was forced but to reject its outcome then agree to a bailout package from creditors which turned out to be more severe.

Breaking Point

The ex-PM revealed how he began to doubt his finance minister relatively soon.

“He was the face of negotiation, the man who attracted publicity, who appeared on the covers of publications the world over … it seemed he was enjoying his new role.”

When the minister outlined a backup strategy that included creating a secondary currency and issuing coupons to retirees, Tsipras knew that it was game over questioning Varoufakis: “Can you be serious?”

Enduring Rebuke

Within the book, Tsipras concludes how his former ally demonstrated himself to be “unsuitable for a deal demanding complex and delicate management.”

He further wrote how his aggressive approach made him more and more alone among peers, put Greece at risk, while helped hawks that were pushing for a Greek exit from the euro.

The account of history has been met with fury and shock in some quarters, while the former minister has maintained a deafening silence on the matter.