Decision on 'job law' deferred after raucous cabinet meeting
Following inconclusive cabinet debate, Netanyahu moves to postpone decision on proposed law enabling ministers to appoint deputy directors-general without tenders until after High Holy Days; MK Elharar criticizes bill, saying it rooted 'quid pro quo' culture.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu decided to postpone until after the High Holy Days further discussions on a bill allowing for the appointment of deputy government ministry directors-general without tenders after an "executive vote" on the matter turned acrimonious in the weekly cabinet meeting Sunday morning.
Voting on the matter in the cabinet meeting effectively allowed it to bypass the usual Knesset lawmaking procedures, thereby expediting its implementation of the proposed bill.
"You've been the prime minister since 2009, and nothing has been done so far. We're the first to actually do something about this," Minister of Justice Ayelet Shaked (Bayit Yehudi)—who initiated the bill along with Minister Yariv Levin (Likud)—told Netanyahu prior to the vote.
"The sovereign is the voter, and when it comes down to it the voters have to decide how they want to prioritize policy and resource allocation," retorted Netatanyahu as the cabinet debate became increasingly vociferous."
"The civil service is there to implement the decisions, but we have to let government ministers carry out the policies for which they were elected," added Netanyahu.
"This proposal is the joke of the year," Minister Gila Gamliel (Likud) interjected.
"Call me when one person gets selected. It was my understanding that we're doing the appointing, so let's appoint," said Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon (Kulanu), referring to the proposal's strict preconditions.
"The guidance has to come down from the political ranks. What we have here is the very least. When people talk about politicization, they have no idea what they're talking about," Netanyahu replied.
"These proposals reflect the proper balance, even if they're somewhat hard to swallow," Deputy Attorney-General Dina Zilber said during the debate.
"Search committees have political representatives," she added, drawing the ire of several ministers.
Roughly half of the Likud ministers spoke out against the proposal, some of them going so far as to claim it would make it even harder for them to appoint a deputy director-general.
"I haven't been hearing any of you talking about this in the media, while Ayelet Shaked is the only one taking fire," Minister of Education and Bayit Yehudi Chairman Naftali Bennett responded to the allegations.
At the debate's conclusion, Minister Levin reproached its participants. "The opposition of some of the cabinet to the proposal today struck down a historic change in the appointment process for high ranking civil service positions. In so doing, an opportunity was missed that may not return again to significantly strengthen ministers' ability to ensure worthy appointments of people committed to their policy," he said.
"Those objecting to this decision are personally responsible for the continued state of deficient governance, the inability to implement ministerial policy and a prolonged, severe detriment to the government's affairs," Levin added.
Professional opinion fears political appointments
Before voting on Justice Minister Shaked and Tourism Minister's Levin proposal, cabinet members heard expert opinion that explicitly stated certain juridical obstacles stand in the way of approving the bid.
The Ministry of Justice's legal adviser Attorney Lea Rakover provided the cabinet with an expert opinion on the matter, saying the bill may lead to political appointment and a sweeping exemption from tenders.
"In light of the marked differences between the political and professional ranks—appointed by tender and freed of political influences—exempting a position from tenders, especially any full exemptions, would be suspected to be an attempt to leverage said position for political appointments," Rakover noted in her opinion.
"The fear of political appointments entails trepidation of the damages so synonymous with such appointments. Firstly, with political appointments the most suitable candidate may not be selected for the position, thus contradicting the very notion behind mandating tenders in the first place. Secondly, there is the apprehension that selecting a candidate for a position based on some kind of ulterior motive would constitute a breach of trust by the executive authority to the public it serves, by not taking all relevant considerations into account," Rakover added.
"Moving to appointing deputy directors-general by political appointment tramples the prospect of promotion for the outstanding civil servants who dedicate their lives to the civil service and are certainly worthy of moving up in their fields," the legal adviser concluded her opinion.
Shaked and Levin claim proposal will fortify governance
The "job law" bill, which drew widespread criticism, purports to appoint a deputy director-general in any ministry with more than 150 employees. Critics of the proposed bill claim it will only lead to political appointments and the improper culture of ministers handing out jobs at key government positions.
Shaked and Levin claim, however, the move would increase governance as ministers will be able to avail themselves of the deputy director-general to better carry out the policy for which they were elected. The preconditions for the position, the bill stipulates, include six to seven years of experience in the ministry's area of operations, of which four or five years entail experience in a senior managerial position.
The law's promulgators responded by claiming that while anyone appointed using this method will not be brought before a tender committee, they will also not oversee any personnel and will not be able to carry out performance reviews of employees. Instead, their role will be defined as project managers, entrusted with monitoring performance and oversight over certain special tasks.
"Deputy directors-general will now be appointed to trust positions. This is an important phase in shoring up the director-general's ability to control their own ministry, and a rather evenhanded one at that, as all other positions will be filled through tenders and committees, with only this one being an auxiliary tool in managing a ministry," Shaked said before the meeting's vote.
Ministers Aryeh Deri and Yoav Galant also spoke before the cabinet meeting, remarking the final phrasing brought to a vote contained preconditions too strict to allow ministers to actually appoint anyone.
"The appointments bill, or the 'job law', as would be more appropriate to call it, will continue the government's attempt at making governmental ministries more political and less professional," said Chairperson of the Knesset’s State Control Committee MK Karin Elharar (Yesh Atid).
"There's no reason to appoint deputy directors-general without a tender, but it is the simplest way of opening ministries up to various cronies and instill the 'quid pro quo' culture. It's a shame Ministers Shaked and Levin continue injuring proper democracy and harm the prospects of an open and equitable civil service. I consider this a very grave attempt, and hope at least (Kahlon's) Kulanu party, which made it a point to preserve the rule of law, will stand in the way of this debauchery," Elharar pleaded.
