Greece, a messy stew of political intrigue and corruption in the best of times, came close over the last few days to a meltdown. Of course, these are not the best of days for Greece but the meltdown was avoided when the political parties, who had been at each other's throats while trying to fashion a coalition government, finally settled on the man for prime minister they had favored in the first place. Lucas Papademos, a world renowned economist and former vice president of the European Central Bank, was chosen to lead the "government of national salvation" until elections are held next year. Reuters: Former European Central Bank vice-president Lucas Papademos will head Greece's new crisis coalition, the president's office said on Thursday, ending suspense over who will try to save the country from default, bankruptcy and an exit from the euro zone. The coalition will be sworn in at 1200 GMT on Friday, a presidential official said after Papademos struck a deal on the national unity...(Read Full Post)