Confrontation in Knesset over PM's political appointments
Olmert abstains from Knesset State Control Committee hearing. Report points finger regarding political appointments he made during his tenure as industry, trade and labor minister
State Comptroller Advisor Yaacov Borovsky mentioned at a Knesset's State Control Committee hearing Tuesday that the comptroller’s office suspected criminal acts on the part of the then Industry, Trade and Labor Minister Ehud Olmert, with regards to political appointments in the Israel Small and Medium Enterprise Authority.
According to Borovsky, information on the affair was already brought to the attention of the Attorney General in September. Representatives of the prime minister confronted representatives of the state comptroller at the hearing.
MK Otniel Schneller (Kadima) confronted Borovsky upon leaving the hearing. Schneller said, “Why are you hiding behind the information. Just reminding you that you also did not run for office and you have a conflict of interests.”
Borovsky refused to respond.
State Control Committee hearing (Photo: Gil Yochanan)
The Knesset's State Control Committee discussed the state comptroller’s report on the political appointments Olmert made during his time as Industry, Trade and Labor Minister.
Director-General of the Industry, Trade and Labor Ministry Raanan Dinur also participated in the hearing, which took place in the presence of State Comptroller Micha Lindenstrauss. The prime minister decided not to attend the hearing.
United Torah Judaism MK Moshe Gafni called Prime Minister Ehud Olmert a "coward" for not attending a Knesset discussion about allegations that he had made illegal appointments when he served as Industry, Trade and Labor Minister under Ariel Sharon. Gafni said former prime minister Sharon would have attended the discussion.
Dinur said, “The deputy director-general’s position was created by the authority’s initiative. I was not involved in that appointment.”
Gafni calls Olmert 'coward' at hearing (Photo: Gil Yochanan)
Dinur added, “I had nothing to do with the other appointments. I don’t know who the comptroller attributes those appointments to. I asked the prime minister if he was involved and he informed me that he wasn’t in any shape or form, and to the best of my understanding even the comptroller doesn’t claim so in the report.”
Coalition Chairman MK Avigdor Itzchaky (Kadima) turned to the state comptroller’s office and said, “Remember that at the end of the day you mustn’t throw the baby out with the bath water. I wonder if all accountants in the finance ministry are tendered, Mr. Borovsky.”
Lindenstrauss published a special report harshly criticizing Olmert for his three years as Industry, Trade and Labor minister on behalf of the Likud. He also criticized Dinur.
The report stated that Olmert and Dinur made a row of political appointments in the Israel Small and Medium Enterprise Authority of Likud members who were not suitable for the positions. The findings were transferred to Attorney General Menachem Mazuz among others.
Lindenstrauss wrote, “The findings raise the suspicion that the authority was used to politically appoint people with an affinity to then Industry, Trade and Labor Minister Ehud Olmert’s party, and conveniently bypass ‘gatekeepers’.”
Upon the reports publication, the prime minister’s office said that the Industry, Trade and Labor Ministry of Olmert’s time changed the regulations in order to allow better control of the authority.
The murky relationship between the prime minister’s office and the comptroller’s office reached its peak after Olmert announced that Lindenstrauss would investigate the issue of military deployment in the North.
The comptroller was surprise and said that it was “the first time I heard that from the media that the government wants to give me the role of investigating the deployment in the war”.
