I believe that your observation is correct, and I have seen folks from the Balkans doing scut work in Greece on our visits as well. Just a heads up about the Guardian newspaper - proud of their long history as deliberate propagandists for the left.
So what then, for Greece and the financial system?
I see two options,: pay now, or pay more later.
The pay now scenario is the Greek exit from the Euro, with probable default. The European Central Bank would likely print money to sore up their banks, devaluing the Euro a bit. If the pain is enough in Greece, perhaps the government will fall within a year.
The pay more later scenario, as Freeper General Blather suggested, is more characteristic. They will all try to kick the can down the road, and send more good money after bad, letting the total future loss rise. It is getting harder to do that, as the total grows so big, that the monthly payments can’t be managed. Again, probable default by Greece, but only after raising the total and encouraging more of the European left to default as well.
Thanks for the tip about the Guardian. I imagine that you are correct and that the article is slanted with omissions, bias, etc.
Here is an article which I found that also addresses some of my concerns:
Eurozone Leeaders believe that Szyira must fail and must be seen to fail
Feb. 11, 2015
One thing I am still not finding is the economics theory take on all of this. What are econ profs saying about the EU crisis in their classes? What scholarly papers (if any) predicted this disaster? Is economics a science or some form of math psychobabble used to justify the politics of the hour? where are the architects of the EU on this and are they being held accountable? Is there any review? Is there any attempt to reconcile economic theory with practice?