Mazuz's puppet show

Just like Sharon, Lieberman too internalized the legal system's domination over our public life; his entry into the government under the current terms in fact marks complete surrender to the "big brother" that pulls the puppets' strings. So Lieberman will behave, he will initially reach compromises on the issue of West Bank outposts, and even legitimize the expulsion from Judea and Samaria in the next stage. If not, the investigation will turn into an indictment.

The principle is simple: The enlightened top echelons control the country through the legal system.

If you behave and expel Jews from Gush Katif, we'll ignore the indictments, Sharon learned; if you'll try to force the committee in charge of appointing judges to keep a protocol, just like any other committee is required to do, you'll be instantly and disgracefully removed from the government – this was the lesson learned by Haim Ramon, who for a moment thought the High Court of Justice is like the old Histadrut labor union federation.

In the past, MK Lieberman came out strongly against the Israel Police and state prosecutor, but now, as he enters the government, he does not at all attempt to fix what was wrong. There's no other option but to acknowledge that the legal system managed to defeat Lieberman, and we'll now see another leader considered to be a rightist acting as a puppet on behalf of the leftist big brother. How does this happen?

In the State of Israel there's no law that defines the way the attorney general is appointed or his powers, and because of this the post accumulated immense power. Beyond his responsibility to advise the government on how to manage its actions in accordance with the law and how to word the laws it wishes to change, the attorney general is also responsible for the persecution system in the State of Israel and also for representing government systems and public officials before the courts.

In this state of affairs, all ministers, and not only them, are at the mercy of the attorney general. If he wishes, he can decide to prosecute one of them, and will be defending that same person. Once an indictment is submitted, do we really need a court of law to figure out the end result?

Lieberman, like Sharon, appreciates power

Even those who like the attorney general's political conduct should be very bothered by its negative influence on the State's conduct. It is important to understand that the way legal issues are conducted is very different than the normative way in which life is conducted.

Most people trust each other, take calculated risks, and do not write a legal disclaimer on every document. Good managers have legal advisors who know how to advise – but not how to manage. The responsibility for taking the decisions belongs to the manager.

Under the current situation, every recommendation by the attorney general at any government ministry automatically becomes a final decision that cannot be argued with, just like in a totalitarian regime. The situation where legal advisors are in fact managing the country is destructive even without taking into account the way they misuse their post in order to promote the political agenda they believe in.

Had Lieberman entered the government and in exchange for this demanded to separate by law the attorney general's advising and protecting role from the role of heading the prosecution, this would have been a sign that the puppet is tearing the strings and is starting to perform on stage independently.

In such case, it is likely to assume that the enlightened top echelons, through their emissaries in the legal system, would have made sure to torpedo the appointment by a sudden speeding up of the investigation.

Yet Lieberman, like Ariel Sharon, knows how to appreciate power; he decided to gain the top echelons' legitimacy and allow big brother to continue pulling the strings.

Lieberman will do what the imitations of former justice Mishael Cheshin at the Supreme Court want, on behalf of the entire nation of course. That's why his name will be cleared and he will gain eternal glory in the eyes of leftist journalists. Needless to say, we'll be paying the price of this puppet show with blood.

The writer is the director of the Likud's "Jewish Leadership" division