Read the article. All of the issues are well known by now, but the Germans/N. Europeans aren't going to agree to anything which amounts to them taking on debt/risk on behalf of what they see as profligate Italians/Greeks.

Varoufakis tried the game playing and lost. The response to the Great Recession was disastrous, but things have settled down since. Everyone else in the Eurozone is now doing quite well (off a low base), so why isn't Italy?

The best the Italians can hope for is to block Jens Weidmann from becoming President of the ECB and keeping someone like Draghi at the helm. Öttinger isn't really up to the job of being an adequate bogeyman.

The Italians are going to have to sort this one out themselves...

Index of Frank's Diaries