Proposed Law: keep Knesset stable

Hamechadesh is reporting that MK Yisroel Eichler (UTJ) has proposed a law that would give the Knesset more stability in the wake of the two years and counting of political instability.

Eichler has proposed that the Knesset should be set in place for a period of 18 months, regardless of what happens with the government coalition. Meaning, even if no government can be formed by any candidate, the Knesset will not go to new elections before 18 months has passed. Once the 18 months deadline has come and no government formed, the Knesset will automatically dissolve and go to elections. During the 18 months, a government can be formed at any time, the Knesset will continue to function normally working on passing laws and overseeing the transition government

Eichler explains in his proposal that the ongoing elections are destructive to the country, with the political rift increasingly tearing apart Israeli society. Additionally there is a heavy financial cost to the ongoing election cycle, with billions being spent on elections a couple of times each year - elections that go nowhere. Additionally, countries look at us weird, not understanding what is going on here, and this causes diplomatic issues.

According to Hamechadesh, several MKs form other parties have signed on to support the proposal.

As I have said before, I am all for electoral reform but it needs to be done properly. the issue needs to be studied with official recommendations for an overhaul and for all encompassing changes - not individual changes devised by political hacks looking to improve their own personal political situations. This might be a good idea, and it might not be a good idea - I don't know. I do know we cannot reform the broken electoral system in little parts with each being designed to help this group or that group differently. This will just deepen the problems, in a different way. 

Also, it looks to me like this is another method of trying to save Netanyahu with the direct elections proposal that recently went nowhere. The Knesset wont dissolve for 18 months, no matter what happens - so what happens when nobody successfully forms a government but the 18 months has not yet passed? We seemingly would go to elections just for the premiership but not for Knesset. So it seems that this is a ploy by Eichler to propose the same law under a different name. Instead of calling it "direct elections for PM", he is calling it "no elections for Knesset if we need elections".

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