Greeks not handling their 'bankruptcy' well

Scotsman:

GREECE has touched Germany's rawest nerve by accusing the EU powerhouse of not fully compensating it for gold stolen by the Nazis during the Second World War.

The incendiary comments came as some 50,000 Greeks took to the streets of Athens to protest over austerity plans aimed at wrenching the country out of a debt crisis that has shaken the eurozone.

The 24-hour general strike grounded flights and disrupted services. "No sacrifices, the rich should pay for the crisis," demonstrators chanted as tens of thousands marched on parliament. Scuffles broke out on the fringe of the protest, with police firing tear gas to disperse groups of stone-throwing youths.

Deputy prime minister Theodoros Pangalos criticised Germany's attitude towards the Greek debt crisis and said Athens had not received adequate compensation for the impact of the Nazi invasion of Greece in 1941.

"They took away the Greek gold that was at the Bank of Greece, they took away the Greek money and they never gave it back. This is an issue that has to be faced sometime in the future," he said. "I don't say they have to give back the money necessarily but they have at least to say 'thanks'."

...

Suggesting that the current German government is responsible for Nazi thieve is unlikely to warm relations are make the Germans want to bailout the Greeks for their irresponsible financial management. Throwing tantrums in the street is also not a way to convince outsiders that Greece is now prepared to act responsible. The Greeks need to regain their composure and come up with a plan to work themselves out of the mess they made.