I have an unpopular proposal: that deputies not work in person again.
My theory is that seeing a half-empty plenary hall avoids the temptation of thinking that we have a half-full Congress. Seeing the disdain that legislators have for their only function may make us think twice about voting, the cost or the importance of their role when we go to the polls.
I say this because I don’t quite know which attitude is more outrageous. The audacity of attending a zoom meeting, distracted by a game of paddle tennis, a meeting, traffic or anything that distracts them (because the majority of deputies are distracted by something) or seeing them just as distracted in the seats. Asleep, watching games on portable screens, while there are endless discussions on the stands with speakers who shout to attract attention.
An empty plenary session is more impactful than one that is full but has legislators with no interest in what is being discussed.
For example, the session of the budget commission of the Chamber of Deputies where only one of 58 deputies attended in person. Although the physical presence of legislators does not necessarily guarantee good performance, at least we would have fewer situations in which they connect from a restaurant, or from the driver’s seat of a car, where it is evident that they do not read the minutes, do not understand what is being voted on and simply automatically take a roll call to fulfill a requirement.
The emptiness in the rooms and at the tables should remind us of the value they give us as citizens. And we should take note of that interest when the campaigns come and, then yes, we see them every day on almost any fence, billboard, pole or empty space.
The value of legislators does not necessarily seem to lie in the function that defines them: legislating. But in the ability to lobby or drag territory.
I don’t know if counting attendance actually solves a problem for us and probably seeing the empty seats allows us to have a snapshot of the value of the legislators for the following elections, when they return to ask for a vote for themselves or for others. Perhaps the empty seats help us remember the hole they leave us.
From our vote, perhaps we should make evaluations starting with the roll call, to know if the legislators guaranteed the defense of the initiatives that they initially promised.
Although it is also one thing to go physically and another, distant and different, is to actually work. Because the list of initiatives presented is not necessarily a guarantee of initiatives presented, approved or read.
So far in the current session alone, 169 initiatives have been presented. Of these, more than one has been presented by the legislators themselves. We wouldn’t know anything about the rest if it weren’t for dance scandals, deviations, and their bad evaluations as former governors.
And here comes the genuine doubt now, how do we say that we notice its absence?
@Micmoya
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