Striding the world stage from January to July 2015, Yanis Varoufakis became the world’s most celebrified finance minister ever. His every pronouncement and lifestyle choice was floodlit in the international media.

He shunned suits and limos, instead wearing leather jackets and riding a motorbike. He showcased his gym-enhanced biceps, artsy wife, and Acropolis-view apartment. He was dazzlingly articulate and delivered macroeconomic explanations to fellow finance ministers who did not want to know. He shed light on the dark dealings of global finance to a public who did want to know.

Of course, it was not only his star persona that commanded such attention. The whole world was watching Syriza in 2012 when they nearly won Greece’s general election and this intensified three years later when they actually won. Many in Greece and abroad heralded this victory as opening a new path for the radical left and for a population desperate to reverse their fortunes.