The current Greek government’s unenviable task of seeking last-minute solutions – under strict EU and IMF surveillance – to avert the country’s economic collapse has brought the message home.

On a practical level, the negativity stems from aspects such as lack of opportunity and lack of meritocracy, both bitter realities for way too many battlers in Greece.

The days of selfish and shortsighted living – by lawmakers and citizens alike – are finally gone.

Should these desperate efforts to restructure Greece’s battered economy produce antidotes, morality will be needed if the country is to stand a chance of regaining and maintaining its footing in the years ahead. Needless to say, collective thinking must prevail over individualism.

For far too long, politics in Greece has been more a matter of scheming for self-gain rather than the common good. Too many politicians have viewed their line of work as nothing more than an opportunity to cash in via illicit practices while their party’s term in power lasts, it would be safe to assume.

The same goes for scores of officials holding and abusing any degree of power in the public sector, examples including tax and building authorities.

Their notoriety for giving citizens the green light for their respective concerns once the bribe has been delivered has been a nationwide problem. Quite outrageously, impunity continues to prevail while fortunes amassed remain safely stored away.

Though less talked about, it should be underlined that too many citizens have been just as guilty for not hesitating to participate in give-and-take practices with authorities. It has been common practice for citizens to vote for their politician of choice not on the strength of his or her political agenda but in search of personal gain as a return for the vote cast.

Until just recently, the pursuit of a job in the public sector, usually not needed, has stood as a classic example.This practice stands as the primary cause of the country’s bloated public sector, now sending Greek taxpayers reeling amid the crippling debt crisis. Besides working lazy, non-existent jobs, some public servants of the past have also enjoyed early retirement, pensions intact.

Cases of retirement by perfectly healthy individuals in their early forties do exist. The private sector has not been free of sin either. Abuse of fringe benefits offered by a number of social security funds linked to certain professions has been widespread, once again at the taxpayer’s expense. Amid all the mayhem, the now-increasing number of less privileged members of Greek society see nothing but a bleak future.

A sense of fatalism governs their lives. On a practical level, the negativity stems from aspects such as lack of opportunity and lack of meritocracy, both bitter realities for way too many battlers in Greece.

Sure, the establishment is the establishment anywhere one goes, but what is a society and its economy without some degree of fair play? In too many cases, nepotism seems to have prevailed over quality and training.

And, on a macroeconomic level, after so many years of deep-rooted and widespread corruption and bureaucracy, the national bill has finally become an issue of alarm. Its weight and demands could become a killer of dreams for enormous chunks of the population, especially aspiring youngsters. Persisting problems such as the aforementioned have made it impossible for Greece to break away from past misery.

This is the time and opportunity for restructuring. Like the old Elvis hit, It’s Now Or Never. Hopefully the people, from society’s top to bottom, will change. Hopefully, after decades of decadence, these detrimental behaviours have not been ingrained in the genes or become part of the country’s culture.

If so, this land is doomed. It is of crucial importance that today’s youth finds the strength and clarity of mind to walk away from the selfish and destructive habits of their predecessors. As for the country’s senior citizens, they should think hard about what kind of a country they have prepared for the youth of today and, quite likely, tomorrow.

George Kolyvas is an Australian Greek journalist who has been living in Greece since 1986 and has worked with Athens Plus among other publications.