Busybodyism and democracy

If the last-minute amendments to the government's omnibus bill on Thursday were really that urgent, then why discuss them in Parliament at all? The provisions might as well have been included in a decree so as to avoid the 10 minutes of inconvenience (this is how long the debate lasted) that the plenary dedicated to these two substantial measures. 

Even worse than the conservative government's decision to submit the amendments just minutes before MPs were to vote, was the excuse given by Labor Minister Yiannis Vroutsis. While he was being applauded by New Democracy lawmakers, the minister said that "the two amendments are important, crucial and positive for workers, for pensioners, for the Greece that we want to see on the day after, because Greece cannot wait. We cannot waste time in the face of sclerotic mind-sets and ideological fixations and remain stagnant and mired in...