Government defeated in 3 no confidence votes
Lack of trust in government proven on Monday when majority of bills receive no confidence votes from participating MKs. Most Shas legislators absent at plenary as a result of MK Avishai Braverman’s appointment to Chairman of Finance Committee
The Knesset passed three votes of no confidence in the government on Monday. The victory attained by the opposition was only symbolic, as a mojority of 61 Knesset members is required in order to dissolve the Knesset.
The votes, which marked an unpleasant beginning to the term of new coalition head MK Yoel Hasson (Kadima), were passed largely due to the the absence of most Shas party members.
A senior Shas official said in response to the absence of members of his faction that this was a warning sign for the coalition. “Shas will know how to perform in a vote of no confidence on fundamental issues as well. I hope that the coalition’s leadership understood the small hint sent its way today.”
Most Shas MKs were missing from the plenum due to their objection to the appointment of MK Avishai Braverman (Labor) to chair the Knesset Finance Committee.
Earlier, Shas Chairman Eli Yishai said that “if the coalition will confirm Braverman’s appointment to chair the Finance Committee against Shas’ position on the matter, this will be a shattering of conventions and Shas will consider itself released from its obligation to vote in compliance with the coalition.”
One of the no confidence motions was submitted by Yisrael Beiteinu regarding “the government’s failure to deal with the higher education crisis:
Yisrael Beiteinu Chairman Avigdor Lieberman said, “The vote proves that the government does not know how to rule, but rather to survive, and for this reason, the time has come for elections in order to bring in an effective rule that will be beneficial to the citizens and not to political survival.”
Another no confidence motion dealt with “the lack of implementation of the Winograd Committee’s conclusions two years after the Second Lebanon War ended.”
MK Zahava Gal-On, chairwoman of the Meretz faction who presented the motion said, “It is scandalous that the government and the Knesset are not marking the end of two years since the war. This was an unnecessary and lawless war.”
End internal coalitional struggle
The third motion was submitted by the new faction Justice for the Old and dealt with the “government’s failure to care for pensioners and senior citizens and the breach of coalitional agreements pertaining to the increase of pension funds for the elderly.”MK Hasson said on his first day on the job that the outcome of the votes were known in advance. “This evening, the opposition utilized the power struggle between the Labor and Shas factions, which stemmed from Braverman’s appointment to chairman of the Finance Committee.
“There was no fear that the Knesset would fall during the voting. My intention is to work towards bringing an end to the internal coalitional struggle,” he said.
MK Gideon Sa'ar, chairman of the Likud faction said in response to the government’s defeat in the votes of no confidence, “The series of degrading defeats dealt to the coalition proved that the fidgeting government reached the end of the road. The government lost the public’s confidence long ago, and lost the Knesset’s confidence today.”
In a preliminary vote, the MKs confirmed a bill intended for adding budgets to the higher education system. Fifty MKs supported the bill, initiated by Meretz Chairman Chaim Oron, while 25 opposed it.
