Despite what foolish people try to tell us, some things in life are inevitable. The 1947-48 baby boom was bound (short of bubonic plague or nuclear war) to lead to the pensions-hole crisis we now face. And a commercial system under which anyone could borrow anything from anyone was bound to end in bankruptcy for everyone concerned.

It is the same with sovereign debt in a rate-competitive market – especially when that sector is a seller’s market, as it is today. Like wolves and lions, the big packs can spot the weak member of the herd. They will weaken it in a chase. And then the alpha hedge-fund will pop up to make the kill.

This is happening to Greece at the moment. It will happen to other countries afterwards. We will probably be one of them. As of yesterday, it is inevitable we will be one of them….if this current (or a coalition) Government gains power after May 6th without a mandate to reduce debt – and send a signal to the carnivores that we are strong enough to resist.

Greece’s single biggest problem is not overspending, but leaving the reduction of that debt too late. The Greek central bank issued a statement earlier this week – largely ignored by the media, quel surprise – saying that Greek debt was now in a vicious spiral. This was – and I quote – ‘despite the fact that draconian spending cuts have been made to contain the crisis’. New Labour is doing precisely this here.

Greece’s optimism was based on an economic outlook calculated to fit the debt-facts, not the commercial reality. The country’s central bank, in this same bombshell release, told the nation that the finance minister’s forecast for the next year was out by a factor of nearly 40%. Mr Darling issued a similarly deluded forecast in yesterday’s Budget….having already downgraded its outlook from the last one four months ago, up to but not including changing all its other calculations to accord with even that glimmer of pessimism.

In Greece, the Leftish media cried ‘scaremongers!’ to those who warned that the workers and the benefit-dependents were in for a shock, and that individuals would do well to offload debt…but that this would mean an economic downturn. They scoffed at the doomsayers,and said the EU would come to their aid. For the last six months, all the liberal-left UK papers have done exactly the same. The BBC, poor thing, has had all its teeth removed – and so simply goes along with what Downing Street says…although one suspects Peston is increasingly uneasy with this.

With one relatively minor member State requiring help, the EU has not turned to its ailing partner, but instead on itself. This does not bode well for the next two countries down the line…or indeed for the Union itself. But one thing is fairly clear: Berlin (and the German electorate) are not up for the bailout thing. As we are outside the Eurozone, they’ll be even loss prone to help the British – and let’s face it, they will be right. But you have to ask, do you not, what all this money going to Brussels has actually bought member States, now that the going is tough. As I’ve said before, the size of the UKIP vote in this election will surprise many.

People who say our position is much better or much worse than Greece’s miss the point: it is essentially the same. It is a shared human inability to face facts. The wiring that helps us to deny our consciousness of death’s inevitability is a terrible thing when applied to life.

The May event will be an election result of the utmost importance, but it will be dominated by a fruitless debate about urgency. The two routes available are extremely clear: collapse on a par with the Weimar Republic in 1923 (not doing enough and/or printing more money) or severe economic pain followed by a better attitude – followed then (and only then) by a proper, woken-up, long term strategy to rebuild our position as a trading nation. (Cutting now, and sending out a signal to the money men everywhere). There is indeed a choice – between disaster and austerity. And the choice is ours.