Government circles on Tuesday characterized Friday’s deal with eurozone partners and the subsequent Varoufakis list of reforms as a “small step” in the opposite direction from the one taken by previous Greek governments.

Sources stressed that the new government managed “to escape” from what they called a “death trap” set by pro-austerity international and domestic forces.

In continuing the unofficial narrative, the same sources claimed the intent was to “wipe out an example of leftist Greek policy that showed an alternative across Europe.”

Referring to the list of reforms, the government officials said “the list is based on the government’s agenda, including a large part of the Thessaloniki program”.

Furthermore, they admitted that it is “impossible for one side to impose 100% of its positions in a negotiation, especially when the forces that should have supported it stood on the opposite side,” a swipe at the domestic opposition.

The four-month extension “constitutes a turning point both for Greece and for Europe”, one official opined, adding: “for the first time since the crisis began, an economic rationale beyond monolithic austerity and the need to address catastrophic consequences of the memorandum policy is officially recorded in a text”.

Another “high mark”, according to the government, is the prospect of reducing the goal for a primary budget surplus.

At the same time, the same government sources stressed that “the government did not accept the current program of extending the memorandum, but insisted on its original position, namely, that the loan agreement and memorandum are two completely different things.”