Deputy Prime Minister Yiannis Dragasakis on Saturday offered his insight into the new leftist government’s negotiations and the 11th-hour deal that allowed Athens to request a loan agreement extension.

In his address at a SYRIZA central committee meeting, Dragasakis charged that “lenders’ plan was to wear-down the government, subversion or to an unconditional surrender on the memorandum”.

He also claimed that the goal was to “blackmail” the new government, “You either agree to sign a new memorandum or you go bankrupt”.

Nevertheless, he referred to the subsequent extension as a “transitional deal” and compromise. “We managed to gain time. We are not compromising our strategic goals. The major deal is ahead,” he concluded.