[Paracelsus]

Remember, though, the old quote misattributed to Alexander Tytler: a democracy can only persist until the population figures out it can vote itself increasingly greater and greater benefits from the public purse. It is true that politicians feather their own nests, but Greece is a pretty strong definition of public will in action.

Assuming you take the view that the Greek voters understand how government debt actually works (okay, that's a big assumption, but still) then what you are seeing on this election is a direct expression of the Greek people: "We don't want to pay back any money that was loaned to us unless it is repaid on our terms." If you translated this sort of assertion to a bank loaning money to an individual, this would be met with a chuckle and the immediate departure of the bank for the nearest court to foreclose on the mortgage.

I am not doubting that politicians are less trustworthy than your average prostitute (the prostitute stops fucking you when you're dead) but at the same time we get the politicians we deserve. Free money -- which is given out in many forms by Western democracies in the present day -- is a very difficult habit to kick, but when hyperinflation hits you generally have no choice but to kick the habit.