After Greece reached an agreement with the other Eurogroup members on February 20, German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble remarked in his inimitable style: “The Greeks certainly will have a difficult time explaining the deal to their voters.”

In fact, the electorate seems to have understood the situation facing Syriza better than Schäuble thought. Subjected to constant blackmail, those who now govern Greece tried something that none of their predecessors had ever seriously imagined doing: negotiating as hard as possible, within the eurozone, to free their country of the austerity measures that have led to a seemingly endless depression.

According to a recent poll, Syriza now has solid popular support. If elections were held tomorrow, it would get 41.3 percent of the vote — 20 points ahead of New Democracy, the right-wing opposition.