“Even more important, if Tsipras manages to incorporate the radical left into some sort of pro-European left-wing mainstream, then that will be good for himself and for Europe because it will show that Europe is an open house for all kinds of democratic forces.”
If Tsipras is able to do that he may yet have a chance of saving Greece. As I walk through the streets of central Athens and see the burgeoning numbers of homeless people and drug addicts, it is clear this country needs saving. Could he be the man to do it — as unlikely as it now seems? If he is, he will create a significant legacy for himself, and for his party — or, as Pagoulatos suggests, whatever is left of his party, because the painful concessions required will mean parting ways with many of those who once followed him.