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I don’t write a lot about Israeli politics, but some things drive me nuts! These things usually come from jurists who know nothing about political institutions and not too much about political behavior. So... a
thread of (mostly) unpopular opinions about the Israeli system 1/n
thread of (mostly) unpopular opinions about the Israeli system 1/n
The electoral system is NOT the problem! If anything, the ultra-proportional system serves very well the political needs, sectorial preferences, and multi-dimensional issue space of the diverse population of Israel. 2/n
Mechanically forcing down the number of parties does not ensure stability, but it does ensure reduction in the quality of political representation (especially for women and ethnic/religious/sexual minorities). 3/n
The problem is NOT the number of parties, but the lack of institutionalization of parties. Reform proposals, including one published this morning ( @ynetnews), emphasize increasing the electoral threshold as a mechanism to reduce the number of parties: https://twitter.com/attilus/status/1337322022309949441?s=20 4/n
The threshold worth absolutely nothing when parties can split and merge with no electoral or financial repercussions. 5/n
The problem is NOT how long the PM serves. Look, you won’t hear me say anything positive about @netanyahu and there are many reasons to believe he is unfit to stay as PM, but term limits are just a stupid idea. 6/n
There is an extensive literature about how bad term limits are politically, but in a parliamentary democracy, they are also conceptually wrong! Limiting the set of choices for the head of state in a hierarchical system like Israel hurts the whole purpose of the system. 7/n
The solution is NOT giving the PM position to the leader of the largest party. Ask @Tzipi_Livni, leading the largest party doesn't mean you can manage a working majority. If the leader of the second-largest party (or any MK) has the support of the majority they should be the PM.
The problem is NOT too many MKs. No, really, this is not the problem! If anything, Israel has too few MKs. Seriously, Israel should (at least) double the number of MKs. Then give them more resources and staff so they could do a proper job as legislators. 9/n
The additional MKs should be elected through (12-24) semi-closed list districts, allowing for better local representation. 10/n
