Small nations have to play by the rules

There is a widely held view that Greece is the victim in the whole sorry mess that has evolved in that country over the past few years, writes Jim Power

In some ways, there is an element of truth in this assertion, but in other ways Greece has been the architect of its own misfortune, just as Ireland and other troubled eurozone states have been the architects of their own misfortunes since 2008.

These countries simply failed to understand the realities and disciplines inherent in locking their currency and general economic systems into a union with larger countries such as Germany and France. The fact that this union was ill-conceived and poorly constructed just served to exacerbate the difficulties.