That leaves the old standby of austerity. Among the initial measures passed by the Greek parliament on July 15th was one leading to “quasi-automatic spending cuts” in the event of shortfalls in Greece’s budget targets. If those cuts were ever enacted, they would only harm the economy further. The politics are little better. Marshalling ongoing domestic support for the bail-out in Greece, with his own left-wing Syriza MPs in revolt, will be an enormous problem for Mr Tsipras (see article). Years more hardship will only radicalise a country that is already a haven for the hard left and the fascist right.