The result of the Greek elections which has resulted in anti-austerity party Syriza under leader Alexis Tsipras winning 149 of the 300 seats available, though widely predicted, has sent shock waves throughout the financial world.
Tsipras led Syriza on the promise that, if elected, it would renegotiate the terms of the bailout Greece has received by the 'troika' of The EU, IMF and ECB to deal with the phenomenal debt the country suffered in the aftermath of the GFC (Global Financial Crisis) which currently stand at 175 per cent of its GDP.
However, the bailout of £185 billion provided since 2010 was provided under strict conditions for restructuring the Greek economy and which has caused severe austerity across all of classes of society.
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On providing the bailout, the IMF believed that Greece would quickly recover and return to growth.
The reality has been somewhat different for Greece. Since 2010, its economy has contracted by a quarter, as have wages, pensions have been severely cut and unemployment has drastically increased generally to 25.5 per cent generally and particularly among the young where for 25-35 it stands at 50 per cent but for those leaving school is over 60 per cent.
Unsurprisingly, Greek voters are sick of austerity that has been imposed on them through, they feel, no fault of their own.
Syriza's promise to tell the troika that, though Greece wants more money, it is no longer willing to suffer further austerity and would prefer to invest in expansion through spending on infrastructure spending as well as raising minimum monthly salaries from €580 to €751 was always going to be popular.
As Mr Tsipras exclaimed to his supporters after the result was announced, "the Greeks wrote history".
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Moreover, he told them, as well as "leaving behind catastrophic austerity," Greece will be "leaving behind the fear and the autocracy, it is leaving behind five years of humiliation and pain".
However, as economic commentators are asking, what happens if the troika refuses to agree to change the conditions of the bailout agreed in 2010?
Many believe that this could result in the Greeks defaulting and leaving the EU - the so called 'Grexit'. On its own, this may be thought to be no bad thing.
The trouble is there could be a knock-on effect among the electorates in other European countries such as Spain, Portugal and Italy that have also experienced the effects of austerity but believe that Greece has walked away from paying its obligations.
This would have resonance with what happened in Iceland.
Indeed, if Greece did leave the EU and, like Iceland, freed from debt prospered many would ask what is the point of being in the EU? The dream of a unified trading block would be severely undermined.
This election was always about economics and the markets have responded to what they see as an existential threat to the EU.
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The euro has fallen this morning, as have European equities. Unsurprisingly the Greek stock market has declined markedly.
These are difficult times and calmer voices are arguing to see the bigger picture.
However, following last week's earnest discussions at Davos concerning inequality there is also the dimension that Greek voters are also giving their response to a system that they believe benefits the very rich - who may not even live there any more - at the expense of the poor.
This is what spooks the markets, that voters may finally be willing to stick their fingers up at those who whilst telling them to keep taking the nasty medicine seem to be living 'high on the hog' on their yachts and private planes.
The Greek election may simply be a reaction to what are pretty dreadful conditions there.
But, as reported by the Birmingham Post's Jonathon Walker last week, just over a quarter of homes in the West Midlands income that "is too low to provide an acceptable standard of living".
There is a general election here in the 海角视频 on May 7, the outcome of which is difficult to call.
What is significant is, similar to Greece, here in Birmingham there are pockets of high unemployment among the young with the associated sense of hopelessness and social depreciation.
Traditionally, in the 海角视频 there is a greater propensity among the old rather than the young to vote.
However, if the young and disillusioned do vote who knows what the outcome will be as they do not have the culture of tribal voting found in previous generations.
If nothing else, the Greek election shows that the elite are being subject to scrutiny in a way not seen before.
Writing in the Guardian , Paul Mason, who is economics editor at Channel 4 News, makes the point that what has happened in Greece shows the consequences when "modern capitalism fails".
Moreover, Mason asserts, it tells us what happens when electorates grow tired of the "inept bureaucrats and corrupt elites" who avoid scrutiny only because of the vast amounts of money pumped into economies.
Not for the first time we live in what are interesting times though we should be aware of the attendant dangers.