No dilemma

The result of the Greek elections is no doubt ground-breaking. The collapse of PASOK to its pre-1980 electoral levels, the rise of the far-right to levels unimaginable since the restoration of democracy in 1974, the collapse of the traditional bi-partisanship, the elevation of the left to second place in the popular vote, are all elements of a radical re-drawing of Greece’s political map. With this radical change in the political landscape, however, the election result seems to have thrown the country into the worst of all possible outcomes: un-governability – and, with it, a further collapse of the economy, political instability through repeat elections and eventually a new default. But this need not be the case.