[wheelerof4te]

"The situation with Python on Debian has been pretty bad IMHO"

The situation with anything has been pretty bad in Debian lately.

I'm all for the minimalistic approach in regards to Python. It's Ok to provide only the packages needed by applications and the core system. For everything else, there's pip.

EDIT: I've meant to say, there's pip inside a venv.

[qbasic_forever]

I agree, the problem is if you just 'pip install foo' on Debian, like 99% of python docs and readmes say, it instantly fails. Worse yet if you think you should just elevate to root and force pip install to work you can potentially break the Python install. It's a nasty footgun.