The country’s right-wing government was exhausted, dispirited, directionless, and divided. Under normal circumstances, it would have been replaced by the opposition. The entire ruling party, however, was united in its desire to keep out the left, which had turned strongly towards socialism. And so the government staggered on, even in the face of looming disaster, for want of an acceptable alternative.
Is it the UK in 2019 or the US in 2020? Time will tell.