Something rotten in Israeli politics
It is dreadful and distressing that police are investigating MKs Amir Peretz (Hatnuah), Erel Margalit (Labor) and other parliamentarians for buying votes during their parties' primaries.
The suspected MKs are presumably innocent. Experience shows that police often fail to prove such crimes. If Peres had been sitting in public within arm's length of the vote contractor what does that prove, anyway? A polygraph test administered by a trustworthy expert would be the fastest way to quickly end the investigation, which is what Peretz, who has firmly denied all charges and welcomed the investigation, is demanding.
Can we justifiably suspect an entire cohort of Labor MKs of such crimes? Was Labor leader Shelly Yachimovich really overjoyed when she disclosed the information regarding Peretz on public radio on Tuesday? Does this mark the beginning of a struggle to oust some MKs? Does this information really make it more difficult for Peretz to serve as a minister from Hatnuah in the next government? Does it permit Labor MKs to cry foul in the name of integrity from the opposition benches?
Something wicked has descended on Israeli politics.
Everyone is wondering the best way to overcome the imbroglio. Officials in Habayit Hayehudi have pointed fingers at MK Nissan Slomiansky and another Likud MK, claiming the two hired a vote contractor in Netanya.
Allowing one person to determine a party's entire list Rabbi Ovadia Yosef in Shas, Yair Lapid in Yesh Atid, Avigdor Lieberman in Yisrael Beytenu, Tzipi Livni in Hatnuah doesn't solve the problem. Officials in Likud and Labor appear helpless, though, after the wave of charges for voter fraud.
There is a solution. It is possible to quell the flames, if not quench them altogether. Establishing a committee comprised of five or seven politicos to determine party lists arbitrarily won't help. Insisting on primary elections will.
There are a few important requisites. First, the only party members who should be allowed to vote in primaries are those who joined the party within one year following the last Knesset elections. Second, they must have paid their party dues punctually; we should not allow retroactive payment. And third, an elections oversight committee headed by a Supreme Court justice can ensure that primaries are held in accordance with state law this will prevent voter contractors from wooing voters at the doorsteps of polling stations.
The recent media frenzy has overshadowed coalition negotiations. Naftali Bennett has been dealing with troubles from his home in Raanana, and Livni has no idea how to grant her party's second ministerial portfolio to Peretz, despite the man's complete denial of the charges against him. Not to mention, there are only nine days left for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to form a government before new elections are called.
Yet again, the coalition-building process is approaching the threshold. President Shimon Peres doesn't have the authority to grant Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu another 14 days. Netanyahu must form the government before U.S. President Barack Obama arrives in Israel on March 20. Habayit Hayehudi and Yesh Atid are free to divvy up all of the ministerial portfolios, excluding the Defense and Finance Ministries. It doesn't matter too much who takes the Housing Ministry or the Industry, Trade and Labor Ministry, and Likud-Beytenu MKs are watching and hoping for a miracle.
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