Yanis Varoufakis’ close coterie of advisers apparently tried to outdo even their boss on Thursday by taking apart a set of reforms sent a day earlier to institutional creditors by … Yanis Varoufakis himself!

Strange turned to stranger a day after FT leaked a 26-page of “reforms” — mostly taxes, multi-faceted and complex efforts to curb tax evasion, higher licensing fees and spending hikes –reportedly sent by the Greek FinMin’s office. Less than 24 hours later, an official ministry announcement more-or-less said a 3.1 to 3.9-percent goal identified in the “reforms list” for the 2015 primary budget surplus is a “pipe dream”.

The higher figures were included in the list leaked by FT, and later disseminated in Greek, in its entirety, by protothema.gr hours later. The original list was composed only in English.

In the face of the FT story citing the so-called “Varoufakis list”, the ministry claimed that for the Greek government the goal remains a primary budget surplus of 1.2 percent for 2015 and not upwards of 3.9 percent ostensibly presented to creditors. The ministry adds that it doesn’t even want such a high goal, given that within the current crisis such a figure would endanger a recovery.

The ministry statement concludes by saying that: “… if, in the end, the higher rates of projected revenues are achieved, then public expenditures will increase correspondingly, and, of course, spending for dealing with the humanitarian crisis.”