First act today was to lay flowers at memorial to Communist resistance

Greece's new leader has nodded to his Communist influences - and his country's fraught history within Europe - by laying flowers for resistance fighters killed by the Nazis in his first official act.

Alexis Tsipras, the leader of the triumphant ant-bailout party Syriza, visited the National Resistance Memorial in Athens as his first official act after being sworn as the country's leader today.

The act was seen as highly symbolic, given Syriza's policies have put it in conflict with other countries across Europe and particularly Germany.

On May 1, 1944, occupying Nazi soldiers executed more than 200 Greek Communist resistance fighters and political prisoners at the site, a former rifle range.

Scores of supporters joined him as he made the pointed gesture towards the country which is now one of Greece's major creditors and an architect the fierce austerity policies enforced on its people.

The 40-year-old former communist party youth activist swept to victory overnight on a promise to renegotiate Greece's €240billion (£179bn) international bailout deal.

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Symbolism: Alexis Tsipras lays flowers on the National Resistance Memorial in Athens, on the site where on May 1, 1944, 200 communist resistance fighters and political prisoners were executed by German soldiers

Making history: Alexis Tsipras, the leader of Greece's far-left Syriza party is sworn in as prime minister, which at 40 years old, makes him the youngest leader for more than 150 years

He has also pledged to reverse many of the reforms that EU creditors demanded in exchange for keeping Greece financially afloat since 2010.

That has placed the country on a collision course with Germany over its massive bailout deal, with Angela Merkel effectively saying the new Greek government can forget any kind of debt relief.

The win has been hailed by left and right-wing parties across Europe - led by Spain's Podemos, which is vowing a similar general election win this year.

But Spain's conservative Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy warned austerity-weary voters against the temptation to back Podemos. 'We cannot bet our future and that of our children in a frivolous game of Russian roulette,' he said.

Tsipras, 40, was sworn in this afternoon, making him the youngest Greek Prime Minister for more than 150 years and the country's first radical left-wing leader.

Breaking with tradition: Tsipras - characteristically without a tie - took a civil instead of a religious oath, pledging to 'always serve the interests of the Greek people'

Alexis Tsipras arrives for his swearing-in ceremony as Greece's first leftist prime minister at the presidential palace in Athens

Victory salute: Newly elected Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras waves to journalists upon his arrival at the the Prime Minister's offices in Athens

Wearing an open-necked shirt, the former Communist youth organiser also broke with tradition by taking a civil instead of a religious oath, pledging to 'always serve the interests of the Greek people'.

Other groups from Britain and Ireland to France, Italy and Portugal also praised Syriza's win as a reproach to the tough budget cuts imposed by their mainstream rivals in the recent economic crisis.

'The Greeks are going to have a true Greek president, not a delegate of German Chancellor Angela Merkel,' said Pablo Iglesias, leader of Podemos, which has topped several opinion polls and is aiming for an absolute majority in Spain's election due in November.

Parties such as Podemos accuse Merkel and other European leaders of forcing hardship on citizens through spending cuts and tax hikes in the crisis, which saw unemployment soar.

News of Syriza's win sent the euro plummeting to an 11-year low against the dollar, trading at $1.1088 in Tokyo in early morning trade, the lowest level since September 2003.

The single currency has also tumbled against the pound, with sterling hitting a seven-year high of around €1.34.

Elsewhere, eurosceptic British party UKIP and France's National Front, one of Europe's most powerful far-right parties, hailed Syriza's victory.

Jubilant: Syriza supporters celebrate victory in the Greek general election, in which the anti-austerity party triumphed over ruling conservatives

Emotional: Projections suggested Syriza was due to receive between 149 seats - just short of the 151 it would need for an overall majority

Syriza's supporters (pictured) were told the party will help Greece 'come out of a vicious circle of debt' by axing austerity measures

'Our priority above all will be to restore the country's lost dignity,' Syriza leader Alexis Tsipras, 40, told a rally of thousands of supporters

The radical left party leader, whose son is named after Che Guevara, promised to clash with 'old establishments' and the 'regime of corruption'

UKIP leader Nigel Farage called it 'a desperate cry for help from the Greek people, millions of whom have been impoverished by the euro experiment'.

French National Front leader Marine Le Pen called it 'a monstrous democratic slap in the face by the Greek people to the European Union'.

Also in France, one of Syriza's left-wing allies, Left Front leader Jean-Luc Melenchon, said: 'The arrogant all-powerfulness of the economic liberals and their so-called miracle formulae to save the economy... have failed in Greece.'

He hoped that 'by a domino effect Europe will be refounded and reorganised in a completely different way'.

Italy's main eurosceptic parties hailed the Greek election result as an overdue signal that austerity policies were not working.

Matteo Salvini, leader of the anti-immigrant Northern League, called it 'a lovely big slap in the face for the Soviet Union of Europe and the euro of unemployment and the banks'.

Cheering: Syriza's supporters celebrated having an estimated 36 per cent of the vote, compared to the conservatives' 28 per cent

The supporters were told: 'Our priority from tomorrow will be to restore popular sovereignty in the country, to give justice, to clash with old establishments. To clash with the regime of corruption. To promote reforms in the state, public administration, everywhere'

Uncompromising: Greece has built up years of resentment to austerity and bailout measures imposed by the European Central Bank

Jubilant: Syriza supporters waved everything from rainbow flags to those bearing Communist symbolism as they heard of their victory

Emotional: After being crippled by debt, Greece has undergone enforced austerity with a youth unemployment rate of 50 per cent

The euro has been falling in value against the pound and the dollar for more than a year, and there are fears about the impact of Syriza's election victory in Greece on the stability of the eurozone

Q & A: WHAT'S NEXT FOR GREECE? Q: Does Syriza's victory mean Greece is now on a collision course with the EU over its debt? A: Angel Merkel has already indicated that Greece must uphold its commitment to its creditors, but there may be chance the deadline for the bail-out could be extended beyond February 28 as it would be in the interest of all parties to do so Q: Will an extension to the EU bailout help? A: It will allow the European Central Bank to continue providing much-needed cash to Greek banks at a time of political uncertainty. It would also give the new Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras time to consider his options Q: Will Greece pull out of the Eurozone? A: Eurozone governments don't want that - and neither do most Greeks, making it politically risky for Mr Tsipras to do so. But he will have to keep the far-left factions of his party in check Advertisement

Several parties in Ireland, which like Greece and Portugal was bailed out by international creditors in return for imposing tough money-saving measures, also hailed Syriza's win.

Paul Murphy, an Irish lawmaker from the leftwing Anti-Austerity Alliance, called the result a 'decisive rejection by the Greek people of savage austerity and a campaign of fear run by the Greek and EU establishment'.

Syriza vows to seize back control of Greece's financial affairs have struck a chord among other bailed-out states.

Pearse Doherty, spokesman for Irish republican party Sinn Fein, said: 'Syriza has promised to renegotiate Greece's debt... and to call for a European debt conference, which would be in Ireland's interests also.'.

In Portugal, some members of the small radical Left Bloc and leaders of a popular protest movement known as Get Lost Troika say they are planning to found a new party named Juntos Podemos - 'Together We Can' - in a nod to Podemos of Spain.

Syriza's victory raised warnings by economists of a potential return to the financial uncertainty in the eurozone that peaked in 2012.

A similar result in a much bigger country like Spain could cause far worse jitters.

Spain's government leapt to play down the parallels. Like Greek leaders, it imposed tough budget cuts in the economic crisis, and says the measures are now helping the economy recover.

'Greece cannot be compared to Spain,' said Spain's Economy Minister Luis de Guindos in an interview published in Spanish financial newspaper Expansion.

'Spain avoided being bailed out and that is the key to the economic recovery we are now undergoing.'

Leading Spanish newspapers El Pais and El Mundo also played down parallels between Syriza's win and Podemos's electoral chances.

But conservative newspaper ABC warned of 'an anti-establishment and anti-Europe convergence of extreme groups that claim the support of angry populations'.

Syriza won 149 seats in the 300-member parliament, just two seats short of outright rule.

But Tsipras quickly gained the key backing he needed to form a government by creating a surprise alliance with a small right-wing party.

A banner of Greece's Syriza left-wing party is dismantled at the party's kiosk in central Athens at the end of the successful general election campaign

Coverage of Syriza's win is plastered across the front pages of Greek papers in Omonoia Square, Athens

Chairs and electoral material are seen on the floor of the campaign kiosk of the PASOK party in Athens

Ms Merkel responded to Syriza's win by insisting Greece must continue with its commitment to debt prepayments.

'In our view it is important for the new government to take action to foster Greece's continued economic recovery,' Ms Merkel's spokesman, Steffen Seibert, told reporters.

'That also means Greece sticking to its previous commitments.'

Outgoing Prime Minister Antonis Samaras had earlier warned the result would leave Greece on the 'brink of catastrophe' and David Cameron said it would 'increase economic uncertainty across Europe'.

As Mr Samaras phoned Mr Tsipras to concede defeat last night, jubilant supporters waved flags on the streets of Athens.

'The Greek people have spoken', said Mr Samaras in a televised statement. 'Everyone respects their decision. My conscience is clear.'

The gathered masses heard the party leader say: 'We have a great opportunity for a new beginning both in Greece and in Europe'

Winds of change: Supporters (left) put their faith in 40-year-old Alexis Tsipras (right), who is known for his laid-back style

A message to Merkel: Syriza supporters on the streets of Athens wished the German Chancellor good night as they romped home to victory

THE MOTORBIKE-RIDING FORMER ENGINEER WHO NAMED HIS SON AFTER CHE GUEVARA: HOW ALEXIS TSIPRAS ROSE FROM FLAT IN WORKING-CLASS ATHENS TO BECOMING THE YOUNGEST GREEK PRIME MINISTER IN 150 YEARS He prefers motorbikes to limousines, refuses to ever wear a tie and lives in a block of flats in one of the most densely populated areas of Greece. Incoming Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras is regarded as a true man of the people, a world away from Greece's political elite which has been characterised by corruption. With the help of his youthful good looks and down-to-earth nature (he happily takes out the rubbish), he has swept to power on a promise to smash the EU's grip on the country's finances. Syriza leader Alexis Tsipras greets supporters following his victory in the election in Athens Right behind her man: Mr Tsipras, followed by his partner Peristera (Betty) Batziana, greets his supporters outside Syriza's headquarters after his Syriza party's win in Sunday's general election Mr Tsipras and Ms Batziana got together in 1987 when they were at high school together in Athens By his side: Ms Batziana convinced Mr Tsipras to join the Communist Youth of Greece in 1990 after they had met three years earlier at high school in Athens Breaking the stereotype of Greek politics, Mr Tsipras is known for his relaxed attitude: travelling around Athens on motorbikes and preferring open-necked shirts to a suit and tie. He lives with his partner, Betty Batziana, an electrical and computer engineer, with their two boys - Phoebus and Orpheus - in an apartment block in Kypseli, a modest, working-class area of Athens. Their youngest son's middle name is Ernesto – a tribute to Che Guevara, one of Mr Tsipras's idols. He had never been that interested in politics, instead throwing his energy into sport at a young age until he was sidelined with a knee injury. But after meeting Ms Batziana, something of a firebrand student, in 1987 when they were at high school together in Athens, she convinced him to join the Communist Youth of Greece in 1990. Humble: The ramshackle block of flats where Tsipras with his partner, Betty Batziana, an electrical and computer engineer, live with their two children in one of the most densely populated areas of Athens Armonias (Harmony) Street where Tsipras lives in a seven-storey block in the Kypseli district of Athens Supporter Eleni Sarli, 54, told The Times: 'He is the good guy everybody wants to be and the honest politician everyone wants to trust.' After training as an engineer, Mr Tsipras eventually went into politics full-time. was a member of the youth wing of the Greek Communist Party, the KKE, rising to prominence as candidate for the mayor of Athens in 2006. Tsipras became leader of Syriza in 2008 at the age of 34 at the height of Greece's economic crisis. Syriza was formed in 2004 as a coalition of moderate Communists, Trotskyists, ecologists and other leftist groups, but has occasionally found it difficult to present a united front. The Kypseli district of Athens, one of the most densely populated areas of Greece, where Alexis Tsipras lives He has also become the undisputed star of the radical European left, standing against Jean-Claude Juncker in May's election for European Commission president. A year later, the pair found themselves at the centre of student protests against unpopular education reforms. Tsipras spearheaded sit-in demonstrations at their school that saw students living and sleeping in the building for weeks. Ms Batzianas was right by his side then - and still is now - with many seeing her as the driving force behind her partner's leadership. According to friends from the University of Patras, where she graduated in electrical engineering, she is strong-willed, militant and dynamic. She once hauled one of her professors to court when he tried undermine her work on a doctoral thesis, it was reported by the Greek Reporter. She also hates spending hours shopping, doesn't like going for regular trips to the hairdressers and won't spend money on clothes. WISH LIST OF A CHE GUEVARA FAN A major renegotiation of Greece's debts and deep cuts in repayments on its £185billion international bailout

Writing off the bank debts of people who can't afford to pay – a move some experts fear could result in a run on lenders today

Heavy new taxes on the rich including wealth taxes, new levies on luxury goods and an end to tax breaks for Greek shipping magnates

A massive job creation scheme to tackle Greece's 25 per cent unemployment rate, and a 50 per cent increase in the minimum wage

Deep cuts in defence spending and possible withdrawal from Nato Advertisement

Mr Tsipras told a rally of thousands of supporters he would defeat 'austerity which destroys our common European future', his speech backed by the booming sounds of Rock the Casbah by The Clash.

'I would like to reassure you that the new Greek government will be ready to co-operate and negotiate for the first time with our partners for a mutually beneficial and sustainable solution so Greece comes out of a vicious circle of debt,' he said.

'We have a great opportunity for a new beginning both in Greece and in Europe. For a new policy, for a new model of relations based on mutual respect.

'Our priority from tomorrow will be to restore popular sovereignty in the country, to give justice, to clash with old establishments.

'To clash with the regime of corruption. To promote reforms in the state, public administration, everywhere.

'Our priority above all will be to restore the country's lost dignity. We regain hope, we regain smiles, optimism and dignity for our people.'

Despondent: Outgoing Prime Minister Antonis Samaras said: 'I received a country which was almost destroyed and I was asked to take the hot potato and I did that... My conscience is clear. Most people didn't give any prospects that we would endure'

Congratulated: At the age of 40, Syriza party leader Alexis Tsipras, 40 (left and right hugging a supporter) is due to become Greece's youngest Prime Minister for 150 years. He has been congratulated by the Greek PM, who conceded defeat, and French premier Francois Hollande

An EU source conceded Sunday that a new deal on the bailout would have to be struck with the new force in Greek politics.

'We will not escape a re-negotiation,' the source told the AFP news agency.

Hours after the victory was confirmed, the small nationalist Independent Greeks party said it will join a coalition under Syriza, giving the government a majority of 162 seats.

'From this moment on, there is a government, we will give a vote of confidence to the new prime minister,' leader Panos Kammenos said after meeting Tsipras.

A Syriza source added that the two parties 'will ally themselves to secure a majority in parliament and form a government.'

Yanis Varoufakis, who is tipped to be Syriza's finance minister, celebrated the win this morning, but said the party was faced with a 'poisoned chalice'.

Speaking on Radio 4's Today programme, he said: 'Tragically our state became bankrupt and Europe decided to deal with this by placing the largest loan on the poorest shoulders on the condition that we would have to shrink our income to a quarter.

'Anyone could see this would be bad news and this fiscal waterboarding turned Greece into a dead state.

'The one glimmer of the light is that the Greek democracy decided to elect us. And to quote your Dylan Thomas we tried to go into the light and did not go gentle into that night.'

Referring to the Eurozone bailout, he said: 'My dear fellows, the problem is that you've paid far too much – €240billion and less than 10 per cent has gone near Greece. It has gone into the dark pit of creditors.

'We have to end that never-ending vicious cycle. We plan to come up with genuine reforms needed to put an end to corruption and bureaucracy.

'We want to create a rational plan for debt structure. There obviously has been a lot of posturing, but we want to sit down and discuss a way to cut the debt.

'We want to increase the minimum wage as we do not believe a hideously low minimum wage is conducive to growth.'

He said an exit from the Euro was not on the cards and the party did not plan to be confrontational with Brussels.

He said: 'Europe has a degree of fragility and we must be careful not to have too much loose, fast talk. We are sure there is room for mutual gains and benefits.'

Rally: Thousands of anti-austerity supporters gathered and cheered in the centre of the capital Athens as the result was announced

Syriza party spokesman Panos Skourletis said it was 'a historic victory that sends a message that... concerns all European peoples'

Greece's economy was saved by bailouts totalling more than €240billion (£180bn) from the EU and the IMF after its economy collapsed in the global financial crisis from 2007.

But in order to qualify for the money, it had to make sweeping public sector cuts.

The outgoing Prime Minister was unrepentant. He said: 'I received a country which was almost destroyed and I was asked to take the hot potato and I did that.

'Most people didn't give any prospects that we would endure... We had to take difficult measures and there were some mistakes and injustices but we averted the worst.

'I am handing over a country that has no deficit, secure for the citizens... a country that gets out of the crisis in an organised way.

'I wish sincerely that my predictions do not come true, but I had to warn everyone.'

Syriza is led by the 40-year-old Alexis Tsipras, who looks set to be Greece's youngest Prime Minister for 150 years.

He is known for his relaxed attitude, travelling by motorbike and preferring open-necked shirts to a suit and tie.

He lives in an apartment block in a working-class suburb of Athens with his partner and two children – the youngest of whom has the middle name Ernesto after revolutionary Che Guevara.

His party wants to renegotiate the terms of Greece's 240billion euro bailout with the EU and the International Monetary Fund.

It says repayments are stifling Greece's chances of recovering from a six-year recession - but its popularity spooked markets which fear a new financial crisis could push Greece out of the Euro.

Syriza party spokesman Panos Skourletis said it was 'a historic victory that sends a message that does not only concern the Greek people, but all European peoples.

'There is great relief among all Europeans. The only question is how big a victory it is.'

Left-wing French president Francois Hollande phoned the party leader to express his 'desire to pursue the close cooperation between our two countries in service of growth and the stability of the Euro zone, in a spirit of progress, solidarity and responsibility that is at the heart of the European values we share.'

Victory: Supporters of Greek anti-austerity party Syriza react to the first exit polls which suggested it had a huge lead over the conservatives

Jubilant: Syriza (whose supporters are pictured) called the victory a 'historic' message to all Europeans about austerity measures

Tied for third place on 6 to 7 per cent of the vote in exit polls were the centrists To Potami and the far-right party Golden Dawn, which critics have slammed as being neo-Nazi and racist.

New Democracy party leader Antonis Samaras, the country's Prime Minister, had already urged voters not to push Greece to the 'brink of catastrophe'.

Mr Samaras defended harsh austerity measures in a speech to fellow members of his conservative New Democracy party, saying he had no choice as the 'ship was sinking'.

The apparent Syriza victory means that a eurozone crisis could now form the backdrop to a second successive General Election in Britain.

Tory Party chairman Grant Shapps raised the prospect that Britain could end up in similar to trouble to Greece if Labour wins power and fails to tackle the deficit.

He said: 'Five years ago Britain had the same sized deficit, as a proportion of our economy, that Greece had.

'We took one route, which was to sort out, take the difficult decisions and sort out our economy. Greece has not done that and you see the chaos they're in.'

But the Labour former Cabinet minister Peter Hain welcomed the prospect of a Syriza victory, saying it would reopen the debate about austerity.

Mr Hain, a close ally of Ed Miliband, said: 'I hope Syriza wins because it will be a big kick to the orthodoxy – the austerity – gripping most of Europe and most of the world, including Britain.'

The general election was held almost two years early and was crucial for Greece's financial future.

As he voted yesterday, the Prime Minister appealed to undecided voters to ensure Greece stays on the path of stability and reforms.

'Today we are deciding if we move ahead with power, safety and confidence or if we get into an adventure,' Mr Samaras said after voting in the western Pelopponese region.

'I am optimistic because I believe no-one will risk the European course of our country.'

Response: Supporters took to the streets of Athens waving flags after a landmark victory which threatens a standoff with Germany

But opinion polls also showed a significant portion of Greek voters were undecided two days before the general election.

The Syriza win represents another turning point for Europe after last week's announcement by the European Central Bank of a massive injection of cash into the bloc's flagging economy.

The bank has spent years trying to clamp down on budgets and pushing countries to pass structural reforms.

Some 9.8 million Greeks were eligible to vote. After its most severe crisis since the fall of the military junta in 1974, Greece's economy has shrunk by some 25 per cent.

Thousands of businesses have closed, wages and pensions have been slashed and more than half of young people are unemployed.

At the same time, its massive public debt has climbed from 146 per cent of gross domestic product in 2010 to 175.5 per cent last year, the second highest in the world.

The country's creditors insist Greece must abide by its commitments to continue receiving support, and investors and markets alike have been spooked by the anti-bailout rhetoric.

Greece could still face bankruptcy if a solution is not found, although talk of 'Grexit' - Greece having to leave the joint currency - and a subsequent potential collapse of the Euro itself has been far less fraught than during the last general election in 2012.

The Prime Minister's campaign focused on the gradually improving economy, which grew for the first time in six years in the third quarter of 2014, and has promised to reduce some taxes if re-elected.

Judgement day: The left-wing Syriza party, led by Alexis Tsipras, was tipped as the favourite as ordinary Greeks cast votes around the country

Big decisions: Greeks voted in an early general election crucial for the country's financial future - and austerity was the only topic

He has warned of the potentially dire consequences of reneging on bailout conditions — to the point that his critics accused him of running a fear campaign.

But Syriza's promises of ending the crushing austerity Greeks have been living under since 2010 have wooed many voters infuriated by the deterioration in their standard of living and ever increasing tax bills.

The big question is whether any party will win the required 151 of parliament's 300 seats to form a government alone.

The Greek political scene has fractured during the financial crisis, with voters abandoning the two formerly dominant parties — the conservatives and the socialists — in favor of a smattering of smaller parties.

In their final day of campaigning on Friday, both leaders appealed to the undecided voters, which opinion polls put at around 10 per cent in the days before the election.

Without the required 151 seats, whichever party wins will have to try forming a coalition government with another party. The first three parties each have three days to try and form a coalition government to avoid a second election being called within a month.

Another option, however, would be for the winner to seek support for a minority government, where other parties would vote along government lines without participating itself in a power-sharing deal.

EU leaders' real fear? Greece quits and thrives

COMMENTARY by DANIEL HANNAN, CONSERVATIVE MEP

Every time Eurocrats declare that the economic crisis is over, it comes back with a vengeance. For six years, the Brussels elites have been periodically assuring us that the Eurozone has shaken off the bug; yet, like some chronic condition, it keeps returning. Usually in Greece.

Yesterday, Greeks voted for a party that, though it says it wants to keep the euro, rejects the conditions that the other members have set. In particular, it insists on a big debt cancellation.

The EU has made clear that it will not write off any more Greek debt. Doing so would, it fears, encourage other struggling Eurozone states to default, and so cause the project to unravel. But Syriza, the party that won yesterday's general election, is equally uncompromising. Its leader, the telegenic Alexis Tsipras, tells voters that he will cancel the austerity and repayment programme 'on my first day in office'.

Both sides claim they want Greece to stay in the monetary union. But a game of chicken is now under way and neither player can easily swerve aside. For Mr Tsipras, any compromise with Brussels would mean a betrayal of his supporters and his convictions. He fought the previous election on an anti-euro platform, and seems genuinely relaxed about going it alone.

The EU has, if anything, even less room for manoeuvre. It has repeatedly eased Greece's bailout terms, yet every such loosening produces more importunate demands.

Angela Merkel, the German Chancellor, has let it be known that she is prepared to let Greece leave the euro if necessary – a reversal of her position in 2011.

Crucial vote: Greece's Prime Minister Antonis Samaras casts his vote at a polling station in Pylos, southern Greece

The bailout funds are now in place, she reasons. Many of the banks that had lent money to Greece have been repaid, and Europe's banks are in a stronger position than they were four years ago, and the EU has a large fund in place to support other Eurozone states. In any case, she would hardly be human if she were not getting tired of being caricatured as a Nazi by the people she is subsidising.

Until now, I have thought a Greek exit – a Grexit – extremely improbable. The Brussels elites, I reckoned, were prepared to pay any price in order to keep the single currency together. Or perhaps I should say 'inflict any price' since they personally will receive lavish tax-free salaries in any event.

On balance, I still think a Grexit is unlikely; but it is no longer impossible. These things rarely happen as a result of deliberate policy. They come about, rather, by mishap, by miscalculation, by misadventure. Bluffing is a dangerous business and Greece might end up slipping out of the Eurozone accidentally.

Most Greeks say they want to keep the euro: the number insisting that they should stay in the monetary union 'at all costs' has risen to 74.2 per cent.

Yet one almost never hears economic arguments for the single currency. The case, rather, is sentimental: the euro is cherished as a symbol that Hellenes are modern Europeans rather than backward Levantines.

It would, indeed, be very difficult to make an economic case for euro membership.

The past six years have seen a greater depression in Greece than that of 1929 to 1935. Output is down by an almost unbelievable 25 per cent. A quarter of all Greeks – half of all youngsters – are unemployed, and tens of thousands more have emigrated in search of jobs.

Urging: As he voted, Prime Minister Samaras appealed to undecided voters to ensure Greece stays on the path of stability and reforms

Mr Tsipras talks of the policies that the EU has forced on Athens as 'fiscal waterboarding' and you can see his point.

Middle-class Athenians can be found rummaging in bins. Farmers are bringing supplies to their urban cousins. On cold nights, a pall of woodsmoke rises, because people can no longer pay heating bills.

Syriza airily promises to stop all this. It says it will increase pensions, hike the minimum wage, expand healthcare, give free electricity to 300,000 households and renationalise a chunk of the economy. Oh, and it expects overseas creditors to offer Greece substantially better terms while it does all this. In normal times, and in a normal country, Syriza would be a joke party on the furthest fringes of the ultra-Left.

It is a coalition of Trotskyists, Maoists, eco-protesters and Occupy types. Mr Tsipras has only recently removed the Che Guevara poster from his office (his son carries the name 'Ernesto' in honour of that bloodthirsty South American revolutionary).

But these are not normal times. Many Greeks have switched directly to Syriza from the Centre-Right out of sheer despair.

And Mr Tsipras himself does not share his countrymen's emotional attachment to the euro. If forced to choose, he would pick the drachma over more austerity.

What then? Well, given the rest of Syriza's economic programme, Greece's prospects would be dark either within or outside the single currency.

On course to win: The leader of Greece's anti-austerity Syriza party Alexis Tsipras just before casting his ballot in the country's elections

But at least a default and devaluation would offer a fresh start. Although the economy has been pummelled by six years of Euro-austerity, some of the fundamentals have improved.

The bureaucracy has been slimmed, taxes are now collected and, if debt repayments were taken out of it, the budget would be in balance. In truth, this is what EU leaders fear. Not that Greece will leave the euro and collapse, but that Greece will leave the euro and prosper.

A competitive Greek economy, exporting its way back to growth, might inspire Spaniards and Italians, who have also been paying the price of the euro, to follow.

For those Eurocrats who see the single currency as a component of political integration, that prospect is too horrible to contemplate.

We've been here before. Two years ago, when it looked as if Cyprus might leave the euro, Brussels went so far as to lift money directly out of private bank accounts to pay off the country's creditors.

The extreme measure was necessary, the European Central Bank admitted, 'to prevent worries over the reversibility of the euro resurfacing'.

Mr Tsipras calculates that the EU will be unwilling to let Greece leave over what is, in terms of the overall size of the Eurozone, a trifling sum.