Greece’s outspoken defence minister, Panos Kammenos, on Friday repeated that if “lenders want to strangle Greece in order to topple a government not to their liking, then we’ll find other funding sources”.

The other funding sources were not cited, although the current leftist (and slightly rightist) Greek government appears eager to seek out alternative creditors, with the so-called BRICS development bank prospect generating plenty of attention this week.

Kammenos, a former New Democracy deputy and minister who bolted that party to form his own anti-austerity and populist party, the Independent Greeks (AN.EL),
He said the country was reaching its fiscal limits in trying to pay off institutional creditors and meet its domestic obligations, but without access to lending.

Another Kammenos proposal that raised eyebrows at an Economist conference was the establishment of a new NATO air base in the Aegean, saying he’ll discuss and propose such a prospect to his US counterpart. Again, no details were given on which island he has in mind, and, of course, whether the rest of the (leftist) government supports such an idea.