Negotiations on a bailout that would prevent Cyprus becoming the first eurozone economy to go bankrupt were tortuous and on the brink last night, with all of the possible outcomes still threatening to bring down the country.

The raid on Cypriot bank deposits, held in the name of ordinary people, businesses, institutions, communities, and prudent savers, breaks one of the fundamental trust-based relationships that has sustained western societies for centuries.

Voting ended in the crucial Greek Cypriot presidential election today with exit polls showing opposition candidate Tassos Papadopoulos may emerge victorious.