Following the failure on 15 May of the Greek president's last-ditch attempt to put together a parliamentary majority willing to back a government of unity, Greece is heading for another general election, probably on 17 June, the outcome of which is unlikely to reassure financial markets.

Unfortunately we have now got to a point where everybody needs to stop acting as they have for years and start acting like each other. German sensibleness must give way to extravagance; Spanish manana must switch to ahora and Italian unpredictability must morph into political security.

The mainstream media image, which has emerged from the triangulations of the volatile European financial landscape, seems to promote a clear North South divide. The hotter countries of the south Mediterranean, such as Greece, Spain, Italy and Portugal are portrayed as having cultivated a languid and hedonistic lifestyle among their citizens.