Tsipras can turn away, or help Europe reinvent itself | Natalie Nougayrède

The Greek leader's headache echoes that of his predecessor Andreas Papandreou. He is leading a country at a crossroads between west and east, past and future

A freshly elected Greek radical leftwing prime minister takes on Europe's institutions. He wants to change the way things are done. He is astutely aware of the proud nationalism that runs through Greece's history. He appeals to those who have felt downtrodden. He has misgivings about the west in general, liberal economics in particular, and wants people to believe he can turn elsewhere - occasionally, to Moscow. He has read Trotsky and Gramsci. He likes to illustrate his nonconformism in the way he dresses.

Remind you of anyone? Yes, it could be Alexis Tsipras. But this also fits the profile of Andreas Papandreou. In 1981, the leader of the Panhellenic Socialist Movement (Pasok) came to power in Greece, and opened an unexpected chapter in the country's political life as well as in the evolution of Europe.

It is hard to overstate the link between Greece's democratisation and the European project

Related: Greece faces a future as Europe's outcast - a yes vote is the only solution| Christopher Pissarides

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