The Eurozone crisis is as much a political problem as it is an economic one

Veterans of Eurozone crisis summits, hoping for another nail-biting drama, had queued to get ringside seats. But yesterday’s meeting over Greece with Eurozone Finance Ministers ended without result. And you shouldn’t be surprised. We’ve been here many times before – Eurozone committees keep minutes but lose hours – and this was not a meeting during which decisions were to be taken.

While some Eurozone watchers have convinced themselves that there is now a new script for Greece’s relation with its Eurozone creditors, no Eurozone government but the Greek share that view. It’s not just that other capitals are hostile to Greece’s own game plan of forcing other governments to make a new decision about its debt terms. The Syriza government has put down a challenge to the political compact of the Eurozone crisis. And that compact is not just about holding the battered Eurozone together, but also to keep reforming parties in government.

While Alexis Tsipras and Yanis Varoufakis present Greece as an exceptional case, other leaders fear they will be casualties in Greece’s quest for a fiscal quarantine.