The European Union (EU) condoned all this bragging. Their leitmotivs differed a bit and there was of course the usual sparring between them, but the message was in fact the same. Till very recently the two establishment parties (the center-left PASOK and the center-right ND) preached that their economic policies led Greece from strength to strength.

The current Greek economic crisis has an aspect of ancient tragedy (for the Greek people) mixed with a bad theatrical farce (staged on behalf of the European and the Greek bourgeoisie).