Meanwhile, Alexis Tsipras, the 40-year-old Syriza leader, has been building bridges with EU leaders in Brussels and the German government in Berlin. He is still pressing for Greece’s creditors to write off at least half the country’s swollen public debt, now almost 175% of GDP. But European officials say he is no longer the intransigent firebrand who promised in 2012 to tear up the “barbarous memorandum” if he came to power. Mr Tsipras has quietly tried to reassure potential investors bringing in money from abroad that Greece would be a business-friendly member of the euro zone under a Syriza government. The hedge funds that led the recent stampede out of Greek bonds have yet to be entirely convinced.