As Greece’s two-and-half-year crisis slides toward its inevitable climax, financial leaders in Europe are finally acknowledging that this once unspeakable conclusion, the one they have all been working to avoid, could indeed happen. The idea that Greece will have to rid itself of the euro, the currency in which its citizens have transacted and saved for the past twelve years, is a now an official reality.

So, now, as they gingerly extract themselves from a state of collective denial, those with the most to lose from the most extreme result – those of the Greek establishment – are doing so in the most alarming fashion possible. Scaring the hell out of those who have Greece’s future in their hands, especially Radical Left leader Alexis Tsipras and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, might be the last chance they have for keeping Greece in the monetary union and avoiding a meltdown.

Fear is becoming Greece’s best export. See my column from last week. WSJ version here. Subscription free version at MarketWatch here.