Why Netanyahu is so worried about this is beyond me. It seems he wants to ensure that Eli Yishai gets in to the Knesset, but I dont know why. Deri is opposed to lowering the threshold, seemingly because he wants to ensure that Yishai does not get in.
Now Netanyahu is saying, through his people, that we need to lower the threshold to ensure all the small right wing parties threatening to split the vote and waste a lot of votes get in and ensure that their votes wont be wasted. They are saying that if we do not lower the threshold and those parties do not get in, and those votes are all wasted, and the left comes to power because of it, it will be Aryeh Deri's fault.
In this case I agree with Deri. I actually think the threshold should be raised even higher, but that should not be done during an election period. Deri need not be the fall guy for Netanyahu. The way they play with the threshold to accomplish their goals is dirty - changing the rules to fit their needs. There should be a solid, iron-clad rule as to how elections work, and it should not be possible to change the rules every other election to fit the ruling party's needs. Perhaps an overwhelming majority should be required to change election rules. I am not sure, but perhaps the INstitute for Democracy should sit down and come up with a plan for the best election rules and the Knesset should set that in stone and make it not easy to change.
In the meantime, no it won't be Aryeh Deri's fault if this or that party does not get in because they could not muster enough votes. It will be their own fault and the will of the people.
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It's turtles all the way down. If, say, a super-majority was required to change the threshold, they would just change the rule that requires a super-majority and then change the threshold. Repeat ad-infinitum.
ReplyDeleteElectoral Reform is difficult to pass because those that benefited from the current system are the ones with the power to make the changes.
ReplyDeleteBibi likes the small parties because they are not in a position to be a serious challenge to his job. A vote for them is a vote for him. At the same time he wants to make sure that he gets enough mandates on his own to have leverage in coalition negotiations.
If he is successful or not he is still going to campaign on not voting for the small parties because they couldn't possibly get over the threshold.
Last election (or maybe the one before) they raised the threshold to keep the small Arab parties out. That backfired when the Arabs responded by creating a United List which may end up being the 2nd or 3rd biggest faction in the Knesset (not impossible that they would be head of opposition if Bibi includes builds a wide coalition with the other big parties)
ReplyDeleteNow because the right is (again) fracturing itself into tiny parties Bibi wants to lower the threshold.
As you said, they should not tinker with the election rules during a campaign, and the small right-wing parties (including Ellie Yishai) should join forces with what's left of Bayti Hayehudi, or should withdraw from the race -I think that they have only a day or 2 left to do that as I think that the last date to submit a party list is this week sometime.