Eli Yishai Wants To Solve The Housing Crisis

The housing crisis has really come to a head recently. UTJ, and even SHAS to a slightly lesser extent, have made the housing crisis one of their banner issues, though they have seen little success at getting the issue resolved. The increased pressure on the government due to the tent protest against the housing crisis has really given the issue a boost, and the issue has suddenly been bumped to nearly the top of the national priority list.

What particularly amuses me is how Eli Yishai suddenly is using the housing crisis to threaten the government. Despite SHAS holding the Ministry of Housing and the Land Authority, which was meant to help cut down on much of the beauracracy of different people controlling these two offices each with different priorities, they have yet to solve the crisis, or even deal with it seriously. Housing Minister Arial Attias has done good work, pushing new projects around the country, but obviously what he has done is insignificant relative to what is needed. I say "obviously" because despite all the projects he is pushing the crisis just keeps getting worse.

And yesterday Minister of Interior, and head of the SHAS party, Eli Yishai threatened the government. He said that if the government does not accept the proposals to solve the crisis SHAS will immediately resign from the government.

I am not commenting on his solutions, if they are good or not, nor on other solutions. I find it amusing that all along they have been fine making suggestions, pushing a couple of plans and letting things move along as they have until now. Suddenly, the crisis is taking an image of being controlled by someone other than Eli Yishai (or anyone else from SHAS), and maybe being solved by someone other than him, and suddenly he is threatening the government with resignation.

Does Eli Yishai really suddenly want to solve the housing crisis or is he just looking to take the credit that others might very well deserve (as others are the ones who turned this into national headlines that will force the government to actually deal with the crisis)?