With a seemingly endless, 1,400-page omnibus bill, with dozens of articles, some more serious than others, the government is attempting to comply with all that it has agreed to with our creditors.
It is patently obvious that MPs who will debate and then be called upon to vote on the draft legislation, have little notion of the repercussions of the provisions which they are being asked to ratify.
Beyond the obvious degrading of the parliamentary process, for the umpteenth time, what is perhaps more significant is that we constantly find ourselves running, out of breath, to legislate certain reforms that are externally imposed.
Most legislative initiatives over the last years were not the result of domestic, governmental planning, but rather of exhaustive negotiations with and choices of the troika of Greece’s creditors.
The result is that we see ministers murmuring that one or another measure was not their choice, but that they adopted it under pressure. Indeed, they argue, with supreme hypocrisy, that after tough negotiations they managed to reduce the impact on one social group or another.
Still, despite the coercion that they confront but for which others pay the price, they boast that with the measures of the omnibus bill, our martyrdom is finishing, and at long last, we shall be deciding on our own.
Beyond the fact that this is a far cry from reality, the essential issue is that for so many years we did not manage to present a national reconstruction plan, a comprehensive and structured effort to confront the ills that brought us here.
Unfortunately, we do not expect that post haste the effectiveness of the majority in parliament will suddenly be transformed, or that there will be a minimum framework of political understanding, which will allow the creation of a policy with continuity and consequence, as the country needs.
Despite the painful experiences over the last eight years or more of the crisis, the largest part of our political system continues to be imbued by the concepts and ailments that led us to bankruptcy.
Hence, the memorandums may end, since the Europeans have tired of us, but the problems that besiege us will continue to make our life difficult.
