Osborne meeting

Soon after taking office, Varoufakis met George Osborne, the then Chancellor. When it came to the eurozone at least, the two men found they had more in common than expected. Osborne was among the first finance ministers I met after my election. The most startling aspect of that encounter – at least to those in the press who expected a frosty or outright acrimonious meeting – was that we found very little to disagree on. In the first few minutes of our discussion I suggested to him that, “While we may disagree on the merits of austerity, you are not really doing much of it, George, are you?”

He agreed smilingly. How could he not? If an Austerity Olympics had been staged, Greece would have swept the board while Osborne’s Britain would have been an also-ran. Osborne also seemed appreciative of the help he was getting from the Bank of England...

“They are behind me every step of the way,’ he told me, evidently relieved not to be in my situation, hostage to a European Central Bank that was doing precisely the opposite.

“I envy you, George,” I lamented. “Unlike you, I have a central bank stabbing me in the back every step of the way. Can you imagine what it would be like?”

He nodded with a smile, signalling if not solidarity at least sympathy.