Πρώτον, ένας Άγγλος γράφει στον Independent για την επιστροφή του στην πτωχευμένη Ελλάδα έξι χρόνια μόλις μετά τις χαρές και τα πανηγύρια του καλοκαιριού του 2004.
My professional life in Greece ended after the 2004 Olympics in Athens. That year, in which persistent worries over delays to preparations gave way to international recognition of a worthy return of the Games to their original home, was the high point.
Coming back now, as Greece’s catastrophic finances threaten to have it cast out of the euro and with popular fury at austerity measures peaking, I have the queasy feeling of someone who attended the wedding and has returned for the funeral.
(…)
The state was spending outlandishly on the Olympics as its citizens bought up everything from luxury cars to holidays. The conspicuous consumption which had always married well with the Greek flair for excess touched new heights. The “new Greek” could read Status magazine, have a €7.50 iced coffee and drink until dawn in places with names like Envy and Privilege.
