In 1893, Greek prime minister Charilaos Trikoupes, made one of the most dramatic declarations in Greek history: “Unfortunately, we are bankrupt!” What had happened?

An extensive program of reforms and infrastructural modernisation, through railways and grand public buildings, didn’t give back the expected revenues.

The financial administration of the state was taken over by the International Financial Control, as it was called then, and extra levies on all transactions were imposed, in order for the debts to be paid back-debts which were taken to repay previous debts or even simply the interests of previous debts.

The government was forced by the International Control to withdraw from circulation a considerable amount of money, to minimise corruption and reduce public spending-and they were successful!

Furthermore it proceeded with a number of social reforms that by 1910 made the Greek economy one of the strongest in Europe, so much so that Greece was ready to participate to the Balkan Wars and conquer a substantial part of what is today its national territory.

The eminent historian G. Dertiles writes that “despite the fact that the international control was humiliating and in the long run exploitative, it allowed Greek economy to use advantageously many favourable factors of the period 1898-1914.

The foreign dependence of the Greek state proved to be in this case more economic than the domestic one.”

One hundred and twenty years later we are still in the same situation- in order for Greece to be saved and become a modern state it must be taken over by foreign institutions the European Union and the International Momentary Fund.

It has to renounce its national sovereignty in economic administration in order to regain its credibility- because the whole debate within the Union was not about the ability of the country to repay its debts but about the credibility of its political establishment to meet its obligations.

What Angela Merkel wanted to say is that the Germans didn’t trust the Greek government!

The implied question being, will the politicians of Greece simply repeat the debacle of 1988?

It was when the so-called, Delors Packages was squandered by the socialist government of Mr Andreas Papandreou.

Billions of dollars which should have been spent on public construction were simply pocketed by hundreds of socialists; as someone said then being a socialist is an investment not an ideology!

In 2004 “Greece was the word” throughout Europe. The Olympic Games, the Euro Cup, the Champion’s league and some other successes gave the Greek government the false impression that they were invulnerable and could do anything they wanted, i.e., increase public servants as political clientele by 20 per cent and give pay rise of about 30 per cent to everybody.

The Prime Minister of the country Constantine Karamanlis came to Australia as a rock star and promised everything to the adulating audiences of Sydney and Melbourne and left forgetting everything the day he landed back in Athens.

What a shameless hypocrisy, the catastrophic irresponsibility and the utter inability of that person to rise up to his duties and understand what he represented for the Greek people!

The previous conservative government was the most catastrophic event in post war Greek history, a bunch of losers who took power with one thing in their mind: how to prepare the ‘future of their children’, as one of them stated.

Many Greeks still blame the Americans (again…), the speculators, the European Union and who knows whom else!

The reality is that beyond the structural problems of Greek economy the main reason for the financial crisis lies with a political establishment that has ruled the country for the last 30 years.

All governments proved to be unfit to govern; their authority was based on the fact that there were no control mechanisms in the political financial system while all of them were sure that they stood above the common criminal law. No minister has ever been prosecuted for corruption in Greece while billions of Euros are missing from public coffers!

In a recent discussion on Greek television between the last three finance ministers of the country, from both parties, all three blamed the ‘political system’ as they said and not themselves. But who is the political system?

Aren’t they the people who take positions in it and manage it? The last government was a mob of looters immune from prosecution who squandered all remaining funds.

Meanwhile, the previous prime minister tries to forget the dreadful episode of his term in office by holidaying in Austria, Switzerland and France recovering from four years of doing nothing.

Unfortunately the left parties play the same tune by accusing the “system” instead of themselves; Mr Tzipras said that not all Greek politicians are to be blamed; “we have done nothing wrong!” he declared in a moment of political naivety.

The dilemma is rather inevitable and depressing: either Greeks cannot govern themselves or they need external authorities to take over and run their state. It seems to me that the latter is obviously true. After so many decades of struggles for independence and freedom, we discover that the enemy was already within the walls.

All cities fall from within- and let us see how this one will collapse. It is sad and frustrating but it seems that nations have the leaders they deserve!

Vrasidas Karalis is Associate Professor in Modern Greek Studies at The University of Sydney.