The present governmental system creates short and unstable terms as well as fragmentation between the legislative and executive branches.
Tomorrow the Constitution Law and Justice Committee headed by Professor Menachem ben Sasson will begin to draft new legislation for directly appointing the head of the party that gains the most electoral votes as Prime Minister without the need for a Knesset vote of confidence. This may be the most important law of the current Knesset and will change the face of governance of Israel.
The State of Israel suffers from one of the weakest governmental systems in the family of developed nations. Statistics by the 2005 World Economic Forum ranked the Israeli public sector's performance as 29th out of 30. In spite of this, Israel's business sector is ranked 8th out of 30 and the quality of Israel's population in terms of technology and education is one of the highest in the world. While most countries have a similar competitiveness ranking for their public and private sectors, the above statistics place Israel among those countries whose public sector has failed in relation to other sectors in the society. In other words, the public sector is what is stopping Israel's development.
The root of the problem is connected to the present governmental system that creates short and unstable terms, most notably among ministers as well as fragmentation between the legislative and executive branches. The current system often leads to a situation in which two out of three of the senior ministers of Finance, Defense and Foreign Affairs are often the Prime Minister's political rivals, either from within his own or another party. According to data from Israel's Citizens Empowerment Center, Israel has had 31 different governments since its establishment and has held 5 elections in the last 11 years. The average length of term of each government is two years; for a minister, only 12 months.
This structure causes severe problems. Among other things, the PM and senior ministers are forced to spend a significant amount of time on political survival; there are strong incentives for short term, populist and sector based policies; the State's ability to design and implement long term policies is damaged; the strength of elected officials vis-à-vis the civil service is eroded; and good people are deterred from joining politics.
In such an atmosphere, it is hardly surprising that the State of Israel fails in any project that requires continuous multi branch planning, decision making and implementation. Senior civil servants, workers organizations and heads of local councils fluctuate between high power and impotence. Ultimately, it's the major weakness of governance that is the common denominator between the length of time needed to build a subway system in Tel Aviv, the failure to deal with Israel's Arab minority, the crisis in the education system and the inefficiency of Israel's sea port.
It is unsurprising that the status of the main symbol of sovereignty in Jerusalem - the Knesset and the Government - is being eroded while other sectors in Israeli society are mobilizing and taking center stage. In today's Israel, the expanding void is being filled by the business sector, NGO's, heads of local councils, worker's organizations and other bodies with a capacity to deliver.
The Lebanon war was just a symptom of what is a greater disease. The Winograd Committee designated part of its significant conclusions and recommendations to the structural changes needed in Israel's National Security. It called on the PM to coordinate with the Foreign and Defense Ministers but did not detail the 'governmental constraints' that make such cooperation difficult. How can the PM cooperate with his senior ministers when others are constantly trying to replace him? Why should he share his uncertainties with those who may later use them against him?
The writing is on the wall. The current system of government is bankrupt. Now is the time for change. Perhaps the political reality created after Winograd will ultimately bring salvation.
Gidi Grinstein is founder and president of the Reut Institute. The views expressed in this blog are his own and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Reut Institute.
For additional information regarding BloGidi see his original post: A Link in the Chain.