There is a sea change going on within Syriza. I’ve heard people who were staunch believers in a euro that can accommodate by negotiation a radical left government say, effectively, they were wrong.
Documents leaked to me last night shed new light, but not total clarity, on the dramatic breakdown of talks in Brussels over a new Greek bailout deal.
The Eurogroup finance ministers have just broken up without agreement over a programme on the Greek debt.
While Labour is tight lipped and ultra-orthodox at present, it is entirely possible to imagine the common ground of a Labour-SNP-Green coalition, or a “supply and confidence” type arrangement.
Citing finance ministry sources, the website Left.gr have put detail into what they believe the Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis has proposed to the Eurogroup:
The battle over Greek debt comes down to politicians versus central bankers – and who is willing to call Syriza’s bluff.
Greece’s new Syriza-run government re-writes the timetable for dealing with its huge debts, saying to Europe’s money men: “go ahead punk – make my day”.
Now the euphoria in Greece has subsided, it is being matched by astonishment in Berlin and the European Union institutions.
Alexis Tsipras is deciding who should run which ministry in Greece. But how does Syriza take over a state whose armed forces and police are configured to suppress the left?
The far left Syriza party wins 149 seats out of 300 in the Greek parliament. What this means is that the EU/IMF strategy for dealing with the aftermath of the 2008 crisis is in tatters.
The exit polls put the far-left party Syriza on track to win the Greek election. If the predictions hold this is an earthquake: for Greece, for the eurozone and for centrist politics.
The ballot stations are still brisk at lunchtime, but a lot of people have already voted. This is a working class community – and on a Sunday the over-70s, who make up 22 per cent of Greek voters, are out in force.
In Assos, a sleepy farming village in the gulf of Corinth, the far-left Syriza party got 121 votes in the election 10 years ago. On Sunday it should top the polls – easily.
For all its recent moderation, and the clear professional expertise of its economics team, no party like Syriza has ever been in power in a European democracy.
Some of the Syriza members I spoke to are, privately, still not sure they even want to govern. But one thing is certain: when you look him in the eye, Alexis Tsipras most definitely does.