Coming off its victory at the polls, the New Democracy Party, which favors the bailout and remaining with the euro, still must form a coalition government and that will not be an easy task.  Tensions and differences remain high.  Had the Greek election gone the other way however, it would have spelled disaster for the Greek people.  That is not to say that much hardship lies ahead, but it would have been far worse.    In the end, it is the only possible scenario that makes sense.  There are many Greeks who are upset at the restrictive lending of bailout money but clearly Germany and the European Union has every right to attach conditions to the money.  Otherwise, nothing will change and the Greek government will be in this same position once the money runs out.  I suppose one could refer to it as “tough love”.  The Greek government and society as a whole must understand that in order for the financial situation in Greece to change the austerity measures put forth, must continue.  People are living longer and costs are increasing precipitously.  It’s just common sense.  Any other response is simply untenable.  The mindset for so long has been retirement at 55, 60 or 65 and then live and enjoy for a few years before dying.  But now people are living 20 and 30 years past retirement and that simply was never built in to the equation.  In addition, as people live longer lives they require longer, more expensive healthcare, puts a tremendous burden on the system.  The only way to pay for it to for people to work longer and pay in to system.  Socialized medicine sounds great on paper but the money to fund it must come from tax revenue which has decreased significantly since the start of the recession.  It is a vicious circle.  Ultimately the only answer for Greece is to change the way Greeks do business, as this is Greece’s last, best chance to turn things around.