MK to court: Make Netanyahu justify holding multiple ministerial posts
Zionist Union lawmaker: Government cannot function, erodes public trust when PM is also defense, foreign and health minister
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is under renewed pressure to justify why he is also currently serving as four ministers of state, with a Knesset member of the opposition Zionist Union on Wednesday seeking a High Court order obligating him to explain.
In addition to serving as prime minister, Netanyahu is also currently Israel's defense minister, foreign affairs minister, health minister, and immigration and absorption minister.
MK Leah Fadida said the prime minister's decision to keep these portfolios for himself stems from poor judgment and damages public trust in the government.
In her petition, Fadida claims that the government is unable to efficiently function, when Netanyahu, in addition to his role as prime minister, also holds four additional portfolios, with two of them—the defense and foreign affairs portfolios—being the most important ones in the government.
The Zionist Union MK added that the time has come to implement a High Court ruling that the prime minister holding multiple portfolios could be considered as lack of authority.
"Even those who are willing to swear Netanyahu has super powers, would have to admit that the government is unable to efficiently attend to matters that are crucial to Israel's citizens, including the country's security," Fadida elaborated.
"Furthermore, without us paying attention, we are going down a slippery slope, which makes the existence of a democratic government redundant, since the main authorities lie in the hands of one person.
"We should wake up before it's too late. I trust the HCJ to prevent us from becoming a modern version of France during the days of Louis XIV," she quipped.
The government said in mid-November that Netanyahu was ready to appoint ministers "in the coming days," the Israeli media reported at the time, although that pledge was never fulfilled. The prime minister's reluctance to name senior members of his government has caused some friction, with Bayit Yehudi (Jewish Home) leader Naftali Bennett threatening a coalition crisis after Netanyahu declined to make him defense minister.
