But the murder has clearly shocked Greeks, already suffering the corrosive effects of six years of recession and punishing austerity.

But he said that if Greece made a success of leaving the euro, it would provide an alternative to punishing austerity.

The government was forced to accept a bailout from international lending institutions, which came with punishing austerity measures insisted on by the EU.

Opinion polls show Greeks overwhelmingly favour remaining in the euro but bitterly resent the punishing austerity medicine prescribed by the EU and IMF.

Opinion polls show Greeks overwhelmingly favor remaining in the euro but bitterly resent the punishing austerity medicine prescribed by the EU and IMF.

Debt to GDP ratios for these economies have increased since the euro zone crisis began in 2010, despite punishing austerity measures over those years.

In the interim, there is bound to be some more economic hardship in Britain as it battles through more rounds of punishing austerity measures.