Did he? How? He inherited a bankrupt country which can't do anything without debt-relief. He knew only two things worked in Greece’s favour: 1. 90% of the Greek debt is held by the eurogroup governments, they are in a position to make a deal 2. The stakes are higher for the other eurogroup countries than they are for Greece, he can say no to any deal that doesn’t give at least some breathing room. In that position, you should play hard, which is what he did. He is a rare case of a finance minister who did his job.

Most finance ministers in the eurogroup who decide on the fate of the second biggest monetary union are not economists, and don’t seem to listen to the advice of economists, most of whom are calling for an end to austerity. Since the current pro-austerity administration took office, the Netherlands has performed worse than its mostly ungoverned neighbour Belgium in almost every respect, including debt-to-GDP growth. Mind you that the Netherlands is one of the richest countries in the world with financial assets worth several times its debts, and those assets have much higher returns than what they pay in interest on their loans. Yet even in this most luxurious of positions, the Dutch finance minister who is also the eurogroup president, swears by austerity for his country and for others, and the Greeks must suffer through it.