The troika [of foreign lenders] weren't just three institutions but a system of power, a state within a state, the real government of the country.
In a move that was interpreted as the beginning of the finance minister's political demise, it was announced that the British-educated economist, Euclid Tsakalotos, would be the pointman between Athens and foreign lenders at the EU, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund.
Argentina's president, Cristina Fernandez, who has said Argentina cannot afford to pay in full the hedge funds while also making payments to other lenders, has called the funds "vultures".
When the banks are borrowing at 2% and lending to payday lenders at 7%, which lend to the poor at 5,500%, the bishops are right to call this usury and to say that it is wrong.
Whatever the rights and wrongs of the arguments over Athens' debt, and the prospects for growth while that debt weighs on the public finances, the country's major lenders – of which the IMF is the third largest – have tired of Syriza.
On Tuesday, the Greek finance ministry said after Varoufakis's talks with Treasury officials in Washington earlier this week, the US government had expressed a willingness to play the role of "honest broker" in negotiations between Athens and its lenders.
Greece has vigorously rebutted speculation that it will declare a debt default and plunge out of the eurozone if it fails to strike a deal with lenders to keep its bankrupt economy afloat.
Low savings rates and rising property prices and rents have made buy-to-let attractive to consumers, while lenders have been fighting to offer the best deals.
An estimated €20bn is believed to have fled local lenders since December, when Athens was plunged into political turmoil with parliament's failure to elect a new head of state automatically triggering snap polls.
The condition was that Tsipras comes up with a reform programme that could satisfy lenders.
Syriza is not going to get what it was elected to deliver – continued membership of the euro but with no austerity conditions attached and no oversight by lenders.
