How to purge completly a broken MySQL

[stan]

For reasons that gave to do with me making stupid decisions, I have a
completely broken MySQL 5 server install on one of my Intrepid machines.
Eben apt-get remove fails.

I think the best way to address this is probably just to completely remove
all traces of this package, and re-install it.

How can I force a complete purge of this package?

-- 
One of the main causes of the fall of the roman empire was that, lacking
zero, they had no way to indicate successful termination of their C
programs.