Comment: Back to the drachma

A return to the drachma is the only real option for Greece, one warranted five years ago and badly needed now.

Deficit budgeting would be discretionary and doable by a country taking responsibility for its debts under a national currency.

The currency is a central conceit of any nation state and modern day Greece can assert its sovereignty and move on.

The central bank would fund the deficit and set the base for the currency.

Salaries and pensions would be paid, social services and education funded. The rationale for so many recent years of strain would be a puzzling legacy.

There would be no kerfuffle about selling Greek debt, that's not a necessary part of the model.

Buyers of Greek debt will flock to the drachma in time - just wait and see.