Eurozone

Greece became strong mainly due to three factors (beyond domestic economic, political, and deterrent force, and soft power). Firstly, in 1981 Greece acceded to the then European Economic Community – which evolved into the current EU.

'The difficulties were a given when the issue was the stability of the euro, and I personally was absolutely cognisant of the excessive burden and challenge that this entailed for the people of Greece. We managed in the end to find a common path.'

To some extent the passion for power that the PM has developed and his ambitions are understandable, but Greece’s future cannot be determined or bound by them.

SYRIZA’s policies are no different from those of centre-left European parties, which in turn are quite similar to centre-right parties.

It notes that Greece’s exit from the bailout programmes, before which creditors approved a cash buffer and an extensions on the servicing of loans, directly impacts on the Eurozone’s credit rating.