Like it or not, elections are upon us
On Thursday, Knesset Speaker Reuven Rivlin (Likud) acted as the responsible adult and decided to disperse the Knesset, a mere ten days after it had reconvened. The step was necessary, since neither the government nor the Knesset can function under the current circumstances. Party and coalition unanimity are gone, and as MKs catch the smell of the upcoming elections, there is no one to stop the reckless slew of legislation.
The near future will be full of government work and spending: billions of shekels will be spent on populist legislation; past restrictions set on taxpayers' money will be done away with; two bills, one proposing the establishing of a constitutional court and another for implementing the report of retired Supreme Court Judge Edmond Levy regarding Judea and Samaria, will be proposed. The next Knesset, which will reconvene on Oct. 15, will be marked by a gross inclination for wild legislation, with no one to halt the stampede.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has sought to continue with the current government in order to pass painful budget cuts, a financial plan that is out of place during an election year. But like it or not, the elections are upon us. It is evident from the way Likud ministers and MKs are courting their in-party supporters, and from reading their recent remarks in the press. Meanwhile, the two factions that formerly made up Kadima are offering up the chronology of a meltdown. Not only have the pigeons flown the coop, but it seems as if no one is left to shut the gate.
Everything has been pushed to an extreme. Former Kadima chairwoman Tzipi Livni and Defense Minister Ehud Barak (Independence) recently had breakfast together, while in New York. This in itself could have been of some interest if the media had dug deep and found out what they discussed. But to call the fact that they sat down at all as "underhanded," as Environmental Protection Minister Gilad Erdan (Likud) was quoted as saying? This is what happens to politicians in the heat of election season.
Dissolving the Knesset immediately would save it and Israeli democracy as a whole from a fiasco that would drag on for the next four months. Instead, MKs would be free to focus on the primaries and cater to their party leaders be they Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman in Yisrael Beytenu or Interior Minister Eli Yishai and Housing and Construction Minister Ariel Atias in Shas, who, as always, remain under the spiritual guidance of Rabbi Ovadia Yosef. Anything other than a quick dispersal would be a waste of everyone's time, energy and money.
Heading toward elections not only makes sense in the short term, but the date for the event itself also seems rather apparent. Netanyahu has no desire to conduct the elections before Feb. 10, which would mark four years to the last voting round. Feb. 12 will fall on a Tuesday, to which the Bible awarded a double blessing. This is also the exact date of the last elections, and would be fitting for the next ones.
If this is indeed the direction we are heading in, it would behoove those parties gearing up for the primaries most importantly the Likud and Labor to hold them this November. Even December would be too late, considering the general elections that seem likely to take place in February. The road ahead is so clear that every day Netanyahu continues to refrain from announcing the upcoming elections is unnecessary, and even damaging. It is much more appropriate to wish for a successful journey.
טעינו? נתקן! אם מצאתם טעות בכתבה, נשמח שתשתפו אותנו