Uri Zaki
'President Lieberman' a bad idea
Appointment of rookies to key posts shows why presidential rule bad idea for Israel
Israel Our Home Chairman Avigdor Lieberman is the main promoter of the idea of adopting presidential rule in Israel. According to the vision advanced by the minister for strategic threats, Israel should be led by a president elected for a period of seven years. The president would not draw his or her power from the Knesset, but rather, directly from the people.
The Knesset, therefore, would not be able to hold non-confidence votes against the president, but rather, only impeach him through a move that would require a two-thirds majority. In such circumstances there would be no new presidential elections either. Instead, the vice president would replace the president, similarly to the way things are done in the United States.
One of the major arguments articulated by Lieberman and other supporters of presidential rule is that under such system of government, the appointment of ministers would be premised on professional considerations rather than political ones and ministers would be obligated only to the president and to their ministry – which will apparently improve the quality of government in Israel.
Well, Lieberman's last two appointments for top posts, Stas Misezhnikov as the head of the Knesset Finance Committee and of course, the failed attempted to appoint Esterina Tartman as tourism minister, are just a taste of things to come if Israel adopts presidential rule based on the vision articulated by the Israel Our Home chairman.
There is no doubt that Avigdor Lieberman managed to adopt a small-scale president rule, and possibly more than that even, within his own party. His faction members, including former top security officials, have become yes-men for the simple reason that they owe Lieberman, and only him, their place in the Knesset. Hence, when Lieberman had to appoint party members to the top posts awarded to his faction, he engaged in a similar process that would have been undertaken in order to make appointments under a presidential rule, which he espouses.
A warning sign
And so, a new Knesset member was appointed to one of the most senior and critical posts in the Israeli economy. The professional experience boasted by MK Misezhnikov is membership in the city of Rishon Lezion's city council and a post in the marketing department of one of Israel's HMOs.
In the 17th Knesset, the highlight of his public activity was blocking the Coastal Road to traffic in the framework of a struggle against the tax reform on vehicles provided to employees by their workplace.
MK Tartman, beyond the revelation that she would have been able to work only four hours a day due to health constraints and a compensation trial she had won had her appointment as tourism minister been approved, is a second-year Knesset member. In the past she served in the IDF's Adjutant Corps, was active in the Histadrut labor union federation, and worked for a bank (there's no need to say much about her academic background.)
The highlight of Tartman's work in the current Knesset was the racist comments against the country's Arab residents and bills aiming to curb the High Court's powers. When Lieberman was asked how the two were chosen, he replied: "Unanimously, in complete agreement." He of course did not bother to hold a faction vote, even for the sake of appearances.
One of the sentences that are often repeated in the excellent television show 'The West Wing' is "I serve to the pleasure of the president." This is the essence of presidential rule, and that's where Avigdor Lieberman, Ehud Barak, Haim Ramon and others wish to take us. Let's not show contempt to Minister Lieberman's latest appointments, but rather, view them as a warning sign.
