How to deal with a problem child such as Greece

Never in the history of the eurozone has the eurogroup been so united. Never have the institutions formerly known as the troika - the European Commission, the International Monetary Fund and the European Central Bank - had such a common purpose. Whether by design or by accident, the Syriza government led by Alexis Tsipras has achieved more European harmony than a collection of continental choirs singing Ode to Joy. Everyone is deeply frustrated by the antics of Greece.

The issue dominated the spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank in Washington. European officials spoke of their incomprehension that Yanis Varoufakis, Greece's finance minister, has not engaged with technical talks to change the terms of the country's lending conditions.

Success would unlock €7.2bn of additional finance necessary to keep Greece from running out of money. The IMF and European officials issued a common message that the detailed talks must speed up or the chances of a default were high. Without agreement, the loans would remain under lock and key.

No one understands Greece's behaviour in shunning the talks since an outline deal was agreed in February. They call it childish. Many say privately that the Greek authorities are behaving like a toddler having a tantrum. It's unacceptable, they say. But just as parents often differ on the best way to quieten their screaming offspring, European harmony does not extend to agreement on the best strategy for dealing with the Greek government.

Then there is a "treat them like grown ups" camp. Greece might be behaving like a child, but you need adults in the room to demonstrate the right way to behave. No shouting back and a belief in the power of example dominates their thinking. They find it difficult to imagine life with the family broken up and want to give Greece every chance to modify its behaviour.

That is far too lenient, say the disciplinarians. There is a certain relish evident when they discuss the potential punishments the child must face if it defaults on its debts, either to the IMF in May or June or to the ECB if it manages to survive until the summer. Cutting the Greeks loose from the ECB - and imposing capital controls - would end any delusions in Athens and bring the government to its senses, they believe. That way, after a messy period, Greece would be able to stay in the euro.

Then there are the sticklers for the rules. Their approach is more incremental, wanting to remind the misbehaving offspring at every stage of their duties and the consequences of continuing to ignore proper process. They are willing to follow through with punishments, but would do so with a heavy heart.

And finally there are the reluctant parents, who did not want Greece in the first place. These officials are beginning a campaign to kick the country out. They have given up and want to put the naughty child up for adoption. The family would be stronger without this bastard child, they say.

Looking on are the indulgent grandparents in the US and UK who think the parents are doing a terrible job and will ruin things for the rest of the extended family. Unhelpfully, they shout this message from afar while absolutely refusing to get involved, wanting the parents simply to pay up for Greece to take the problem away.

In Washington, the signs were that the sticklers for the rules had the upper hand. Greece has been told to negotiate speedily and in good faith. There will be no deals in smoke-filled rooms, no acceptance of delayed payments to the IMF, and the money will not be released if progress has not been made. They worry as much about political contagion if they were to give in to tantrums from Athens as economic contagion from letting Greece go. But they also hold out the carrot of flexibility if Greece calms down and engages with the proper process.

The most remarkable aspect about the mood is that no one is convinced Athens will end its tantrum.

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