I am willing enough to criticize Minister Yaakov Litzman when I feels he deserves it, so I should also compliment him when he deserves.
If anybody in the government does, Litzman puts his money where his mouth is.
As he has threatened over the past couple of weeks, this morning Litzman threatened Netanyahu to leave the government should the government vote to approve the lockdown.
Not too many carry through on their promises and threats, but Litzman has in the past, so his threats aren't necessarily empty. He might be bluffing, as neither he nor anyone from UTJ has walked out on a government before for any reason other than chilul shabbos, but he might not be. Litzman has shown himself willing to leave on his own, so he might now too. He doesnt speak for the entire UTJ, but only for himself, but one cannot just dismiss what he is threatening.
Not only that, he is assuring Degel that they will not lose because of him. If Litzman resigns form the government, he goes back to Knesset. Because of the Norwegian Law, MK ELiyahu Baruchi would lose his spot, which he got when Litzman became a minister. Baruchi is from the Degel faction, so an Agudah minister resigning would hurt Degel as well. Litzman told Degel that if he resigns, MK Eliyahu Chassid, from the Agudah faction, will as well, so Baruchi will be moved up in the list and will remain an MK.
Good for Litzman. I can respect that. Not only is he sacrificing his own guy (Hassid) instead of Degel's, but he is really sacrificing him. If Hassid resigns, he is off the list If Litzman should work things out after to become a minister again (as he has also done in the past), the next person in the list (I dont know who that is) gets Litzmans spot, and not Hassid. As far as I know, if Hassid resigns now, he is gone, so Litzman is sacrificing a lot to push his agenda.
UPDATE:
the above was written before Litzman actually resigned. Immediately before the government meeting began, Litzman officially announced his resignation.
Nothing changes from what I wrote above.
The only thing that is worth adding is that he resigned from his ministerial position but not form the coalition. Meaning he is setting himself up for a return like last time, and probably just wants to be able to say he was not a part of the decision - not being a member of the government is even more distance than voting against the decision.
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Hasn't he played the game before. And doesn't he have a 48 hour leeway?
ReplyDeleteI have total respect for someone willing to sacrifice themselves in order to stand up for their principles.
ReplyDeleteIMHO Litzman does not fall into that category. He is 'sacrificing himself' with a safety net. He has left the cards on the table to go back to being a Minister like he was before after a short vacation. He gets street cred for his 'noble' sacrifice, where he doesn't lose anything at all. He doesn't accomplish anything either because he is not willing to use his power to stop the policy that he is protesting. In the mean time, some unknown MK has to sacrifice their time in the Knesset to allow Litzman to play his games.
anonymous senior UTJ people are now saying this is just an excuse. Litzman has been trying to find a way to resign for a couple of weeks now because the indictment is just about ready to be served and he prefers to not be forced to resign upon being indicted. This way he went out honorably rather than as a criminal...
ReplyDeleteMakes sense
DeleteExcept having resigned now out of "principle," it will be more difficult for UTJ to ask for a replacement position. Ironically, had he been removed, they could have.
DeleteHe's sat through far worse that this.
ReplyDelete