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"The wind of "Syrizomanias" which blew a few days after the elections on 25 January in Rome and Paris, or even in London or Washington, where some appear generous with the money of others, is slowly fizzling."

Guy Verhofstadt, former Belgian Prime Minister and leader of the Liberal group in the European Parliament states in an open letter to the Greek people.

"Within less than a month Alexis Tsipras and financial minister Yanis Varoufakis have managed to come into confrontation with their main partners and the refusal of Athens to proceed to reforms in return for the continuation of assistance from the euro area is like a leap into the void.

The point of rupture is approaching and it was much better for the new and inexperienced prime minister, rather than taking refuge in nationalist logic of a beleaguered by the German hordes Acropolis, to realise the extent of the policy of isolation and the fragile economic situation in Greece.

Like everyone, I take note of the electoral victory of Alexis Tsipras and the government's cooperation with a xenophobic, anti-Semitic and nationalist party, but I do not think the Greek democracy is superior by definition. If Athens wants to stay in the euro, the new government should respect the contract that binds Greece and its partners for five years: financial assistance in return for active structural reforms.

In Germany, the Netherlands and other countries, any change in the Greek programme must be approved by parliament. Each country has its own democratic procedures and obligations! And furthermore, after the start of the debt crisis the EU is equipped with solid tools and mechanisms, such as the European Stability Mechanism (ESM), which protect the euro area and prevent it from any kind of blackmailing.

Alexis Tsipras will not convince his partners that he has a will to compromise through actions like reinstating cleaners or re-opening the public television that was a symbol of clientelist mismanagement. It would be sufficient to implement the most reliable part of his programme to gain trust among the partners. Throughout the course of the election campaign, the head of SYRIZA presented himself as the "pure politician" that Greece needed. And reality is that the Greek state is corrupt, weak and divided into three parties.

If the Troika, accused of all evils, had to take care of salaries and pensions, it was because the previous governments refused to make reforms that would bring enormous savings in operating costs. Even today, there are still over 3,000 government agencies. While one can understand the suspension of the privatisation of the port of Piraeus, which could lead to a sell-off in the current economic conditions, it is hard to understand why the production and sale of sugar should continue to be a state monopoly or why Thessaloniki has three centres for the sale of leather and leather products.

Moreover, one lands suddenly finding that there has not yet been a serious tax reform, while the continuing absence of land registers in many regions remains a blatant violation. Messrs Tsipras and Varoufakis should not be deluded: the climate in Brussels is not to leave the taps open without funding commitments. If Alexis Tsipras decides to show that he is a determined reformer, no one intends to create obstacles and difficulties.

Instead, we are several who want to support him to return Greece on the road to growth and employment. Some liberalisation measures have already been implemented in Greece and they have yielded results in terms of competitiveness, as shown by the forecast for next year’s growth rate, which is the largest in the whole EU. We must therefore resolutely pursue this route, and on this basis we could consider extending the maturity of Greek debt and reducing the interest rates."