But even those Greeks who recognized the need for sacrifice and hard decisions are now becoming skeptical over whether this will lead to growth or whether fiscal consolidation efforts are being swallowed by recession. Reform fatigue is now threatening political stability and enhancing populists and euroskeptics, whose rhetoric gains credibility when some of our partners behave like medieval despots.

Let me put it another way: Greece has lost the war of economic survival and now has to rely on loans and financial assistance from its partners. Most Greeks realize that the country will not be able to access international markets for many years and appreciate the help at a time of need. They also understand that this help comes with a financial straitjacket that will not go away any time soon.

What they cannot digest is the sort of diktat that seems to be coming from Germany and some of its north-European partners. This hurts the pride of a whole nation and it makes it impossible for the forces of reform to convince anyone about the need for change.

We know what diktat by the Western powers toward Germany after World War I led to. Greece is on the verge of such a meltdown. The extremists, both on the left and the right, are on the rise, and political violence is spreading. I can see the coming of a Weimar period in Greece when gangs start destroying political offices on a daily basis and right-wing extremists gain popularity among the underprivileged.

Some of our partners seem to focus more on ways to humiliate our political leaders or the average Greek than they are on getting the job done. If they somehow believe that they will force a change of political culture and personnel through intimidation, they are dead wrong. No country can be led under such pressure without some encouragement and incentive.

We don’t want Greece to get a free ride: We have to change, reform our economy and civil service, make sure that everyone pays their taxes, etc. Our politicians seem ready to implement deeply unpopular reforms. A coalition government has been formed for that purpose and is most likely to continue in another form after the next election.

This is a time for deadlines and pressure. But it is not a time for diktat. Germany should have learned from the way it was treated after World War II: There was pressure to change and reform, but without the humiliation that followed World War I.