Yet another omnibus bill, with hundreds of pages and articles, was passed by parliament yesterday, with express procedures.

We have lost count of how many thousands of pages of draft legislation have been voted on, so as to implement agreements and arrangements that the creditors have demanded, in order for us to become a normal state again at some point.

Yet, the memorandums and omnibus bills come and go, despite the steps that have been taken, and normalcy is long in coming.

This is because most of these measures are the result of external coercion, and not the product of a conscious choice of our own.

It is no coincidence that despite the fact that all bailout memorandum-era governments have stressed the need for a national plan to confront the crisis, that never came.

A perpetual lack of understanding of the needs and challenges that lie ahead impeded us from undertaking initiatives that would transcend external coercion and shape a national reconstruction strategy for the economy and society.

Piecemeal measures, petty partisan motivations and ideological fixations hold us hostage to an environment of stagnation, with a heavy toll.

We have paid a high price, and will continue to do so for quite a while, for the inability of the political system to rise to the occasion and transcend the ills of the past.

It is no coincidence that we are the only country that was placed under a supervision mechanism and continues to labour under it.

In other countries, there was a minimum national consensus, which permitted rapid reforms, and changes that carried political cost, but they did not engage in sterile social and political clashes.

In Greece, even today, we insist on cultivating a climate of polarisation and confrontation. That hinders the implementation of reforms, and impedes society from understanding their purpose and effectiveness.

First of all, it is the ruling majority that seeks to manufacture enemies, in order to paper over its repeated political reversals.

Despite the success story that it is peddling, society’s limits of endurance are rapidly being exhausted.

If the government truly seeks to limit strict fiscal supervision – as supervision will continue whether one likes it or not – then the government must put the general interest of the country first, above electoral motivations.

Otherwise we shall soon find ourselves confronting new, painful situations.