Your point about Greece losing its strategic position after the collapse of the eastern block is spot on. The inability of greek governments to adapt is in part

Your point about Greece losing its strategic position after the collapse of the eastern block is spot on. The inability of greek governments to adapt is in part responsible for this mess. It is also true, though, that most greeks (e.g. me) did not realize in what great peril the country was. Had we known the country was drowning in debt, we would not borrow as much and start businesses here. Unfortunately, even today, nobody has gone on trial over these grave financial crimes. I might even argue it's also a cultural thing, in greece almost all laws are enforced loosely. Paying taxes is usually considered the dumb thing to do; you won't find many greeks being "proud to pay their taxes". Politics is impenetrable to new ideas, it's considered to be obscure like voodoo, passed on from generation to generation between 3 families (even now, the current prime minister and the opposition leader used to be college roommates). Not all greeks are the same though, you just hear the loudest voices. Greece has a large, educated (and largely unemployed) youth that could fuel a new wave of growth now that markets are opening here. You might hear of riots, but these were concentrated on a square in Athens. I might be wrong, but there is a growing feeling that we are expecting the impending default as a chance to start over the economy, to actually do some work. Things are changing, in the eleventh hour, for sure, but one can only be optimistic. The country is about to enter some tectonic shifts and looking to the past has nothing to offer.