Well-known financial commentator and journalist Alan Kohler says Greeks have lost their way in contrast to their glorious ancient past, in an article for The Australian.
He refers to Greece as “not quite third world, but close” in the article entitled ‘How Greece’s golden age became a giant mess’.
Giving a brief timeline of modern Greece while showing the ups and downs, Kohler recalls how in the ’60s Greece was the “coolest nation on earth”, making reference to Maria Callas, Jackie and Aristotle Onassis, Olympic Airlines, and Anthony Quinn as Zorba the Greek.
Reflecting on a recent trip he took to Greece, the journalist sets the scene of the modern day capital, saying “the first thing that struck me about Athens was the graffiti: it was everywhere. And we’re not talking Banksy or street art here, but messy scribbles. The second was all the boarded-up buildings and the third thing was the rubbish in the streets,” he writes.
Highlighting social and political instability as two of the main issues of modern Greece, he concluded that Greece’s acceptance into the eurozone was a mistake – more evident in the current political climate than ever.
The harsh critique of Greece’s state of affairs is encapsulated in his final sentence, stating “individually Greeks truly are wonderful people, but together they are a total stuff-up”.
Source: The Australian