An interesting article by Alex Andreou on national stereotypes and their consequences. As I have argued before, there are probably few countries in Europe with a worse image than Greece at the moment. How much of it is true, how much constructed by media or politics is a matter of debate. The foloowing article compares image and reality and is worth your time:
New Statesman – Exploding the myth of the feckless, lazy Greeks.
Places. 
Beautifully expressed…..the chagrin we all feel who know Greece and her people well.My Greek mother in law was just like this….and I learned so much from her…from cooking well with only the most basic of ingredients….to forgiveness…though never up to her astonishing standard of forgiveness towards those who invaded her country and murdered her family in an act of gross brutality…..and now moralise about the fecklessness and laziness which their bitter eyes perceive in Greek society