All sides have contributed to the maturing of Greek democracy

Citizens - the majority of whom are addicted to partisan absolutism and accusations against rivals for the destruction that they (alone) have wreaked on the country - might feel perplexed by an assessment of modern Greek history that acknowledges the contribution of all sides to the country's political, economic and social progress.

Objectivity tends to be irksome to one side on some occasions, to the other side on others. A levelheaded, nonpartisan approach to things does not excite the crowds or rally the troops. It's hard to swallow because it also entails giving credit where credit's due, even if this is to the opposite camp.

Greece has many well-known shortcomings: very little consensus, widespread cronyism, embezzlement and waste of public funds, tax evasion and sundry more examples of immoral behavior. It's always someone else who is responsible for the country's...