Greece threatens tilt to Russia and China unless Europe yields

Simon Tilford, from the Centre for European Reform, said Syriza is needlessly making enemies with its scattershot rhetoric and wild talk of Nazi war reparations, but is right in its fundamental critique of Europe’s debt-deflation errors.

“What the Greeks are saying makes a lot of sense and has the support of economists across the world. The real problem is Germany. They seem impervious to evidence and are intellectually isolated. What is shocking is how insular the German debate has become,” he said.

“Germany’s leaders have created a rod for their own backs by failing to explain honestly to their own people what the origins of the eurozone crisis really were. That is why it is going to be so difficult to reach a deal,” he said.