A Greek Revolution?

Greek President Karolos Papoulias has faced difficult circumstances and situations in his short period in power in Athens.

Yet, it seems that his short spell as President may end sooner than had been hoped by international officials as last-ditch talks with various party members to secure support appear to have been fruitless.

Attempts to form a coalition and avert a further set of elections are Papoulias’ primary concern: even higher than economic issues. Should the Greek populace be put to the vote again, there is sure to be all manner of civil reactions from apathy to unrest.

Certainly, the Greeks will have lost all belief in the abilities of their leaders to govern and manage the state properly and efficiently. At best, politicians can hope for a resolution between party factions, for any further public disgrace could spell the end of Greek’s current political system.

In the event of an election, whilst a few may look with disinterest on a failing succession of Presidents and parties, the recent demonstrations and violence that have spread across the country suggest the possibility of widespread anarchism and potential revolution.

Of course, extremist positions that promote Greek exit from the Eurozone appear all the more enticing whilst faced with current alternatives. Riddled with debt, a persistently shrinking economy and mounting unemployment, Greece is certainly not the hotbed of industry and business that marked the new millennium.

Last week, a majority of Greeks voted for parties that want to rip up the country's bailout agreement with the European Union and International Monetary Fund (IMF) - including neo-Nazis.

The biggest winner was the leftist anti-bailout coalition, Syriza, whose share of the vote more than tripled and who describe the austerity imposed by the bailout as "barbaric".

Yet, the main problem that any incoming government could face is that there is no official guidance on a country exiting the EU. No, the naïve, bright brains behind the introduction of the EU did not foresee any member country wanting to leave the zone and so did not prepare for such an event.

Therefore, Greece could essentially issue a statement to Brussels stating its intent to leave the EU and then default on its debts. Its second default, that is.

The economic repercussions across both the EU and Greece however could be catastrophic as further member states could decide that restrictive measures on their economies are no longer suitable. As such, contributors such as the UK and Germany lose billions of euros in funds that have been pumped into these nations.

Meanwhile, a new Greek government could not guarantee the stability of any currency that it introduces or predict the volatility of markets towards the new position of the country.

Greece would probably have to impose capital controls to prevent all the money leaving, much as Malaysia did in 1998 after the Asian financial crisis.

So in the best-case scenario, Greece would have no buying power, and everything would be expensive: extremely expensive.

However, the play would be based around the hope that with such a weak currency, the economy would grow rapidly.

Whilst this route would be expensive and painful, it might appease those voters who feel manipulated and controlled by central authorities in Brussels who they believe have no appreciation of their situation. If the hypothetical economic reinvigoration were to pay off, to pardon the pun, it could be the lighting spark for further action in the EU zone and render relations difficult across the EU, ushering in a new era of European co-operation, or lack thereof.