New Greek FinMin Yanis Varoufakis offered his insight on Wednesday on what personal finance should mean for individual Greek citizens, expressing a surprisingly more austere conviction.

“We are in favor of a frugal lifestyle. Growth does not mean more Porsche Cayennes swarming the narrow Greek streets or more trash on the beaches. Greeks were more creative when they lived frugally, without loans and credit cards,” Varoufakis stressed.

During a handover ceremony at the ministry, Varoufakis reiterated his widely circulated views on the debt issue, acknowledging at the same time that Greece’s bailout program was the biggest such outlay ever recorded in modern European history.

“Our European partners’ funds were thrown into a black hole,” he said, without mincing his words, adding however, that an “internal devaluation” program through salary and pension cuts has failed.

According to Varoufakis, the government will pursue a new agreement with the country’s creditors, known collectively as the “troika”, to replace the old one. In the meantime, a temporary agreement must be made and this is the first priority of the Greek, he said.

During the brief ceremony, Varoufakis made specific reference to his upcoming meetings with Eurogroup President Jeroen Dijsselbloem and the Finance Ministers of France and Italy. Specifically, regarding the 15-minute telephone conversation he had with Dijsselbloem, the Greek FinMin stated that there are prospects for a fruitful new agreement between Greece and the rest of Europe.

“We must deconstruct the narrative of a ‘duel’ between Greece and its creditors, in order to deconstruct the climate of insecurity.”.