SUPERNANNY has a number of theories as to how to deal with a tantrum; give the child some control of the situation, give them a distraction, ignore them or, if it is really embarrassing, just pick them up and go home.

A favourite phrase in the media at the moment is ‘Grexit’ as the Greek ruling party, Syriza, continues to stamp its feet like a child being forced to put down the Skittles and eat his celery (some may say this is a valid argument).

Their complaint is that the austerity measures imposed upon them by the European Union are unfair and unless something changes, they will leave.

The view on whether they are right changes depending on where in Europe you are but ultimately the measures in question have been a necessary response to spiralling debt and GDP falling by 25 per cent.

If it was not for the ECB bail outs, Greece would surely have defaulted.

The people of Greece have suffered immeasurably and unemployment, though falling, is still around 25 per cent.

It is understandable the fatigue of constantly feeling downtrodden by seemingly distant figures in Brussels meant that anti-austerity party Syriza stormed to victory in January’s elections.

However, the radicalism that got them elected at the time is now diminishing as little progress has been made.

On the face of it, the leaders are trying their best to put on a united front, but there is little evidence of a middle ground being found as Europe, led by the Germans, continues to deny their demands like a firm parent slowly losing patience.

The Greek people too are losing enthusiasm for the Syriza party’s policies.

Approval by the Greek people for Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras’ negotiating strategy collapsed from 75 per cent in March to 45.5 per cent in April, and his move to requisition an estimated €1-2 billion from local government coffers in an attempt to stave off a default has understandably not gone down well.

The interest yields of a country’s government bonds are an easy measure of the market’s concern for a country’s fiscal health, so the fact the Greek yields have started to fall back below 15 per cent after spiking at around 20 per cent for five year bonds is telling.

This is compared to the UK equivalent, which yields about 1.4 per cent.

Europe is not going to budge.

Wiping off Greek debts or allowing them to leave the Eurozone could set a dangerous precedent for other countries to do the same.

The fact that a protest party actually took power has already served to embolden other similar radicals across Europe.

Despite this, Greece remains in the minority and a growing European membership around them is testament to this.

If European integration is so good, why then is Greece waiting at the door?

In actual fact, it is not.

If opinion polls are anything to go by, three-quarters of Greeks want to remain in the EU and it with his positioning weakening, Tsipras may even resort to a referendum, fully aware that the result would not support his position but at least he would be sticking to the policies that got him elected.

Most toddlers grow out of tantrums so it is up to Europe to take a deep breath, stick to its guns and not let Greece leave the top table until it has finished their bland but necessary diet of austerity.

Jeffrey Ball is an assistant director at Brewin Dolphin. The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily the views held throughout Brewin Dolphin. No director, representative or employee of Brewin Dolphin accepts liability for any direct or consequential loss arising from the use of this document or its contents. Any tax allowances or thresholds mentioned are based on personal circumstances and current legislation which is subject to change.