In an interview with Αl Jazeera about the Greek response to Covid-19, George Pagoulatos describes how the government displayed “a very professional, managerial approach early on”, albeit largely dictated by inherent national weaknesses. Pagoulatos explains how austerity might also help to understand how Greeks put aside their traditionally defiant attitude towards authority. “Maybe it has helped that Greece has been in an almost constant [state of] crisis management since 2010… We are well past the kind of complacency healthier economies might allow themselves”, he says. “A society that has undergone hardship for a prolonged period knows when personal sacrifice is necessary or inevitable.”
You can find the article in English here.