That's Greece in a nutshell right there. Skills were never relevant, and still aren't. It's all about who you know, and what political leverage you have. The re

That's Greece in a nutshell right there. Skills were never relevant, and still aren't. It's all about who you know, and what political leverage you have. The results are there for all to see. I left Greece 6 years ago, and unfortunately whenever I visit, nothing seems to change. Same as you, I left about 6 years ago, but I think things are gradually changing (albeit slowly). The state's "tit" has dried out and clientelism is not as rampant anymore, businesses that used to rely on state funded projects (and took advantage of connections) are much fewer, run of the mill shops that offer no quality of service are quickly phased-out by competition. There's still lots of tax-evasion, undeclared employment, etc. and lots of dodgy businesses staying afloat (especially in tourism) but I still see a glimpse of change in the horizon. The three big problems I see that make actual change hard are (a) too many young educated people have fled the country (b) the political environment is still fluid and (c) there are still many obstacles that make starting a business there unattractive. If (b) and (c) are solved, (a) will solve itself and people will come back to start again