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On Monday night the Greek prime minister George Papandreou addressed representatives of trade unions and business groups in Athens in a speech that was meant to mark the beginning of the country's economic recovery. It was a night of high drama, and an attempt at inspirational leadership. Papandreou offered some indication of his economic strategy while trying to drum up support among society and cultivate a feeling of wartime-style national unity. He did not, however, offer the immediate fiscal fixes the world markets were anticipating. And that is not necessarily a bad thing.

Greece's ailing fiscal situation has led its creditors, the markets, the financial press and its European partners to exert an unprecedented amount of pressure on the country. Comparisons to Dubai and...