You're right, this story's a little inaccurate. The problem with Greece is that they were given tons of money, they did change things, they did austerity - some of the best kind of austerity, too, like raising the retirement age, keeping people in the economy and working without the biggest impact on spending - and they did a little market reform to promote competition. And their recovery was underway, and then their people voted in a government which promised to change things back and make everything 100% painless, and then that government tried to be the hardball negotiator but without anything they could do to back up their bluster.

The other problem with Greece is that they're the sort of nation where you have a nationalized health care system but you need to bribe the doctor to get an appointment. (And private industry is also sclerotic and more about bribing the regulators than being able to compete.) Lying to the EU about budget deficits in the past should be seen in this context.

And the other problem with Greece is that they see Merkel in this negotiating group and think "Oh, the Germans want to occupy us again like in World War II." ANGELA MERKEL IS HITLER2.0! VOTE LEFTIST! RESIST THE REFORMS!

(and according to some reputable publications on the topic of international relations, like the Wall Street Journal, word on the street in Brussels is that a lot of these countries would be happier if Greece just walks away then if they accept bailout terms at this point, because they don't trust them to actually stick to the bailout terms.)