High Anxiety Over Cameron's Austerity Call

"Austerity or you're out" is the uncompromising message from David Cameron and the other leaders of the advanced economies to the people of Greece.

The opinion polls tell us the majority of Greeks want to remain in the eurozone but the economic data also tells us what the price of austerity has been.

Since November 2009 when the PASOK party was elected to government and began efforts to reform the economy get the nationals finances under control, unemployment has doubled and real take home for the average Greek has fallen by around 20%.

Austerity has bought Greece 240bn euros of emergency loans from the EU and the IMF but, still now, the Greek government is deep in debt, spending more than it has coming in and the economy is entering a fifth year of recession.

"An end to austerity and we stay in" is a very different message but so much more seductive. That's the election promise to the people of Greece from Alexis Tsipras, the leader of the Syriza party.

Syriza advertises an end to the pain and continued membership of the eurozone. The party pledges tax rises but only for the very wealthy and companies which turn a profit, for everyone else there's a VAT cut.

Syriza also says it will cancel a large part of Greece's national debt, nationalise the banking system, strengthen the power of the unions and reverse recent cuts to the minimum wage and unemployment benefit.

It's a manifesto which a until a few months ago appeared laughable but, if the opinion polls are right, if there was an election tomorrow around 25% of Greeks would vote for the party (up from 18% at the last election, two weeks ago). Some polls score them as Greece's most popular party

There is still the best part of four weeks to go and the other big parties are already responding. In the last few days senior figures within the PASOK and New Democracy parties have described Syriza as "clueless" and "dangerous".

On Sunday the man who negotiated Greece's participation in the bailout programmes, the former Finance Minister, George Papaconstantinou, told Sky News that if Syriza were to form a government and "tear-up" the austerity agreement it would "open the door to hell".

Syriza has won people's attention and the right to be taken seriously but it's too early to say if the party and its policies will stand-up to the scrutiny.

The main, established parties talk of the need for "fiscal consolidation" and "primary surpluses" but Syriza's message is more comprehensible and more hopeful.

Their critics accuse the party of misleading voters but, in times of hardship, there are people who are willing to believe.

No one knows whether or not Greece will leave the euro or what will happen if it does - thus the high anxiety - but it is perfectly possible that on June 17 the Greek people will elect a government determined to reject every reform the EU and the IMF has insisted on.

If it does it's likely Greece will leave the euro and from then on, well we're into the unknown.