German officials have reportedly conveyed Berlin’s displeasure with Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis, calling for the replacement of the globe-trotting game theorist expert.

If sources are to be believed, the same message was given to Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras’ office by the German ambassador in Athens after the flopped Eurogroup meeting. The answer, as per the government’s leaks, was: “Greece is an independent European country and its government is its own concern.”

Nevertheless, a real official did, in fact, say that “we don’t have a predictable negotiation partner in the Greek government.”

Joachim Poss, a member of the German SPD’s executive board, told Euro Insight that “clearly not all actors are up to the challenges posed by the office of a finance minister. In this difficult situation, Tsipras should consider replacing Varoufakis with a more realistic finance minister.”

The German side may not be the only one interested in replacing Varoufakis. In Greece, outspoken former PASOK minister Theodoros Pangalos said it was a mistake for the Radical Left Coalition to place an academic in the post. “Politics is an art, it is an art the same way that acting, painting or music is an art. You’ve either got it or you haven’t. Tsipras has got it, but Varoufakis evidently hasn’t,” he said.

Despite the evident dislike of Yanis’ apparent impertinence, a majority of respondents in a couple of latest opinion polls in Greece believe the media-savvy Varoufakis has press European partners hard, as opposed to former ministers judged as “subordinate and submissive”.

“Bread, Souvlakis, Varoufakis!”