State corporations being held together with short-term fixes

For years governments have been trying to patch the holes of a series of problematic state corporations - among them mining company Larco, Hellenic Post (ELTA), Hellenic Railways Organization (OSE), Hellenic Aerospace Industry (EAB) and Hellenic Sugar Industry (EBZ) - but the wounds beneath those patches have been allowed to fester, and now those companies pose a serious threat to the Greek economy.

The reforms the country was forced to introduce during the crisis on the directives of its creditors have either not affected those companies or not had the desired result on them, although some constitute emblematic cases of the negative landscape that led to the financial crisis to start with.

Their well-known problems were swept under the carpet, solutions were postponed, and now the issues are reappearing, but today they're worse. The government appears to be...