Monday

4th Dec 2023

Podcast

Book Club: The Last Bluff

  • Greece ended up with more loans on even tougher terms. In their bestselling book The Last Bluff, co-authors Viktoria Dendrinou and Eleni Varvitsioti judge the Greek government's strategy as doomed from the outset (Photo: Helena Malikova)

During the first few months of 2015 the world watched in awe — and often admiration — as a scrappy government in Athens tried to stare down Europe's financial and political establishment. The standoff failed spectacularly.

Greece ended up with more loans on even tougher terms. In their bestselling book The Last Bluff, co-authors Viktoria Dendrinou and Eleni Varvitsioti judge the Greek government's strategy as doomed from the outset.

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But they also spotlight conflicts among Greece's creditors that inflicted undue suffering on ordinary citizens.

In this first EU Scream Book Club, Eleni describes some of the characters her book brings to life, and its most memorable scenes, including the tragicomic denouement featuring François Hollande.

Author bio

EU Scream is the progressive politics podcast from Brussels. Produced by James Kanter with graphics by Helena Malikova and music by Lara Natale.

You may also follow via @euscreams subscribe via iTunes, Spotify or from the EU Scream website.

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