Greece was engulfed in political uncertainty as power-sharing talks aimed at forming a coalition government collapsed amid intense wrangling, ensuring that tortuous negotiations would drag on into a fourth day.
As Greeks – and European Union officials – looked on aghast, the presidential palace announced that the near bankrupt country's squabbling party leaders would reconvene under the auspices of president Karolos Papoulias .
Suggestions that Philippos Petsalnikos, Speaker of the parliament and a long-time confidant of outgoing socialist prime minister George Papandreou, would be the next leader appeared to torpedo the talks and last night well-placed sources suggested that sparring politicians were once again considering annointing former frontrunner Lucas Papademos to take control of the new government.
"This is an insult to democracy," lamented the veteran leftist Fotis Kouvelis who leads the small Democratic Left party.
"It is clear that, after this, whatever government emerges will be totally undermined," he said giving voice to fears that Athens had become rudderless as it navigates its worst crisis in modern times. "The only answer is elections here and now."
The talks collapsed after a day of farcical high drama, climaxing with the unexpected exit from the presidential palace of Giorgos Karatzaferis, leader of the populist far-right Laos party.
The politician, whose party's fortunes have risen dramatically on the back of Greece's debt drama, stormed out of the building denouncing the "tactical games" allegedly being played by Papandreou and Antonis Samaras, the conservative main opposition leader.
"I am very sorry. Very sorry for Greece," he said before being whisked off in a bullet proof car.
Barely an hour earlier, as suspense mounted over who his successor would be, Papandreou had given an emotional farewell address to the nation proclaimed the start of a "new era" and wished the new interim administration well.
"Soon we will have a government that will take the necessary national steps, not just so that we stay in the euro, but … emerge from this crisis," he said in the speech beamed to the nation before he visited Papoulias to formally tender his resignation.
"Despite our differences, which we have put to one side, we have chosen a government that will supercede political parties and personal prejudice to enforce the decisions of 26/27 October [the day EU leaders approved a €130bn (£110.6bn) rescue programme for Greece] and to open a new era in our country. My hope is that this will usher in a new political mentality and culture."
Although the socialist leader did not name the next prime minister, he hinted strongly that it would be Petsalnikos. A leading member of Papandreou's Pasok party, Petsalnikos emerged as one of a number of possible candidates being considered for the post after the front-runner, Lucas Papademos, an esteemed economist and former vice chairman of the European Central Bank, lost his "favoured" status. Talks with the respected banker are believe to have floundered after he demanded that he be allowed to pick his own team and remain in office for much longer than the three month lifespan envisaged for the interim government.
The choice of Petsalnikos appears to have played a major role in the mayhem that followed. Outraged socialist MPs quickly made their disapproval evident, saying Petsalnikos, who once worked on the factory lines in Germany, lacked the economic expertise and international prowess to be appointed prime minister at such a critical time.
Many said he would be an "extension" of Papandreou, who faced a vicious party revolt after he took the step of saying he would put the hard-won EU debt deal to popular vote – a vote he would likely not have won given opposition among Greeks to the painful austerity measures the aid package will inevitably entail.
With the political deadlock effectively leaving the country in limbo – three days after Papandreou announced that he would step down to make way for a national unity government that could better carry the weight of austerity measures demanded in return for aid – many Greeks didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
Politicians and pundits agreed that the extraordinary depths into which the negotiations had declined had begun to resemble a tragi-comedy – even by the standards of Greece's deeply divisive political scene.
With EU leaders looking on nervously – at the start of the day officials in Brussels had likened the agonising process to a farce – there were growing concerns that the deadlock might also have dire consequences for a country in economic freefall, teetering on the brink of financial collapse.
In a rare intervention, the governor of the Bank of Greece, George Provopoulos, earlier in the day appealed to political leaders to resolve their differences quickly, warning that Greece's membership in the eurozone was at stake.
"I consider it imperative that a new government is formed immediately and that the new government and the major political parties commit to the full implementation of the agreement of the [EU] heads of state of 27 October," he said in a statement.
Although the Greek banking system had over the past two years weathered the storm "resulting from the uncertainty created by the sovereign crisis," the political uncertainty stalking Athens posed a much greater threat, he warned.
"More recently, political uncertainty has added to the stress facing the economy and the banking system. Any delay in forming a new government threatens to damage further the country's credibility. To safeguard financial stability in this very challenging environment, it is essential that a strong coalition government pursues the necessary policies that will ensure Greece's future within the euro area."