About the fiction of a legislative branch

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It's no secret that even in democracies the members of parliament usually follow the party leaders' agree-on proposals for legislation. The independent member of parliament who studies a bill himself or herself and then decides based on knowledge, experience, wisdom, reasoning, conscience and full understanding of the bill is largely a fiction.

The parliament's role is stronger in countries which elect head of government and parliament separately, and weaker where the parliament elects a head of government (and is then supposed to be loyal to it). Countries with largely party-independent campaign financing and districts with majority voting have an even more strong-willed parliament, but this usually only means that the head of government needs to put more effort into influencing his party's parliament majority.

The member of parliament as a central and important block in the political system was convenient, popular - it's a fiction that the Western world maintains. A parliament, a separate legislative branch that supposedly oversees the executive branch - is still supposed to be a necessity in the separation of powers.

Yet actual top politicians are ignoring this in most obvious ways.

Take the negotiations with Greece, for example: Supposedly, Greece wants other countries' and multinational organizations' financial power to assist them in their fiscal troubles. Those in return demand that Greece changes its ways away from the path that led it towards bankruptcy; their assistance is conditional.

Greece is supposed to promise enough reforms in a paper these days.

Greece? Wait, no, the Greek gubernative, the head of government and his minister of finance are expected to promise those reforms. Yet those reforms require legislative action!

Essentially, it is expected that the Greek executive branch can promise that the Greek legislative branch will follow it. The expectation is that there is no separation of powers in Greece. In fact, it's being demanded.

Have you seen ANYONE decrying this ANYWHERE?*

Could the crisis of the parliamentary system in the West be any more obvious and official?

S O

defence_and_freedom@gmx.de

*: Except you know where, obviously.

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