As Britain goes to polls, economic clouds hover

Even with rioters on the streets of Athens and the 16 countries using the euro threatened with mounting turmoil, the economy remained the most frequently–and least candidly–discussed topic here as the three main parties entered the last hours of a monthlong general election campaign. Yet, with government deficits in Britain second in Europe only to those of Greece, some analysts have suggested that this might be a good election to lose. Whoever wins will be forced to make deep and unpopular cuts, a task made all the more difficult if the closely contested election produces a hung Parliament or a fragile coalition government that could delay important economic decisions. "This is a ticking time bomb," said Ruth Lea, an economic adviser at the Arbuthnot Banking Group who worked at the Treasury in London in 1976 when Britain, in its worst financial crisis since World War II, was forced to go to the International Monetary Fund for assistance. "If the next government does not come to grips with this, the I.M.F. will have to come in. I remember, it was very, very humiliating."