By Alexis Papachelas

It’s sad but true: Whether we go to the polls just 13 months after the previous elections and whether the country experiences a power vacuum depends on what deputy X will tell some daily in the middle of nowhere.

Meanwhile, the government has hidden itself away behind closed doors, discussing its options of “where do we go from here,” while market forces are in hiatus and the world around us is changing at a rapid and dangerous pace. There are many out there who couldn’t care less which party is in power yet are extremely concerned about the prospect of the country being left to sail on alone. They believe that if we go to the polls, or even if people believe we are about to, the country will be unable to face the economic crisis that is sure to hit us at some point.

Circumstances, however, are also extremely difficult due to the electoral laws. If the country heads for elections without something spectacular having happened in the meantime, it is certain that no party will be able to secure a parliamentary majority. This means a second round of elections and a long period of instability. Maybe in some other country, somewhere in Central Europe, the prospect of a large coalition may have been discussed, but not in Greece, where coming to terms with the obvious is an anathema. Therefore? Therefore, we’re back to square one. TV stations and newspapers will continue their hunt for a statement from those “edgy” deputies that will give them the right to boast that they brought down the government.

Let us hope that the 151 deputies of the ruling New Democracy party understand the weight of their every word, because the prime minister will not have time to make any major changes in staff and policy. The prime minister will have to start his day worrying about what some neglected MP will have to say against the government. While the rest of the world will be more concerned about the statements of Ben Bernanke and Jean-Claude Trichet, here in Greece we will be wondering what the next Stavros Dailakis has to say.