greece looks like hopeless case., page-8

I don't mean to be rude, but Greece has other resources apart from perishables. Some of its natural resources include lignite, petroleum, gold, silver, minerals, iron ore, bauxite, lead, zinc, nickel, magnesite, marble and salt. The private sector is doing quite well. Unfortunately Greece has been used as the European debt default scapegoat ahead of other EU member countries, as an example. IMO, Greece needed this humiliation to ensure some form of 'Thatcher politics' to prevail. Tax increases are on the cards and will hurt the average person and so it will take many years to repay this debt; but you must remember that Greece had a GDP of 4.5%, which was amongst the highest in the EU prior to the debt crisis. It will take some time to come out of this debt- the Greek government can raise most of the cash from within, but it is a matter of TRUST as to whether the Greek Government can repay the debt and stop the public debt carnage from continuing.