They would have had no choice. I do not place too much stock in tv news, but this kind of thing is not something you just bandy about. And previous craches have been foreseen.
There have been threats like this before. No one has ever really seen WHAT might happen. I can say, though, that it's doubtful the politicians will lose any money over it.
"A casual stroll through the lunatic asylum shows that faith does not prove anything." - Friedrich Nietzsche