From Greek warriors to battered soldiers waving the white flag – in a week

Alexis Tsipras and Yanis Varoufakis could have threatened the eurozone with default. Instead, they showed their hand early - and the troika is still in charge

German officials chose a suitably Greek metaphor last week as they rejected the anti-austerity Syriza government's initial demands, accusing finance minister Yanis Varoufakis and his colleagues of wheeling out a "Trojan horse".

As the fraught talks played out, however, instead of an army of fearsome Greek warriors emerging at Varoufakis's side, it appeared more like one weary foot-soldier, waving an enormous white flag.

Debt forgiveness, much talked about during the campaign, seemed to be off the agenda

Continue reading...