Europe’s crisis is Cameron’s opportunity

Napoleon notoriously preferred his generals to be lucky — and on that score at least, he would have approved of David Cameron. The triumph of the Syriza party in Greece presents him with a glorious opportunity to solve the European question that has bedevilled the Tories for so long. Europe’s difficulty is Cameron’s opportunity.

The European elite has been shaken by the scale of Syriza’s victory. Just a few weeks ago, Cameron was arguing in private that Greek voters, who remain overwhelmingly pro-EU, would ultimately not back a party that was intent on a confrontation with the eurozone authorities. European diplomats stressed that even if Syriza won it wouldn’t get close to a majority and would end up having to form a coalition with To Potami, which would moderate its demands, so no need to panic. But Europe now finds itself confronted with a hard-line coalition of Syriza and the Independent Greeks, a three-year-old party of right-wing populists every bit as determined as Syriza to renegotiate the terms of the bailout.