Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein is worried about the numerous party splits seen this past week, and on Thursday evening he said that the multiplicity of small parties is "destroying democracy."
Speaking at a conference of Likud activists, Edelstein said, "There are MKs in the Knesset committees whose job is to oversee the government, and all they do is pass laws for the heads of their parties like peons. What about the oversight work? If they say a word, their careers are over."
Edelstein also voiced criticism of his own Likud party.
"Make no mistake, it exists with us, too. It's obvious that third-tier MKs don't want to speak out against ministers, but they at least exercise discretion, and in the end, every MK has his own voters. In parties that don't hold primaries, there is no discretion – you open your mouth and you're out.
"The Knesset can't be a branch of the government, and the opposition can't depend on a single person. That's not democracy, that's tyranny. The public must understand that it has to vote for a [party] list, not just one pretty face. [Yesh Atid leader] Yair Lapid and [Yisrael Beytenu leader] Avigdor Lieberman are quite enough. Now we also have [former IDF Chief of Staff] Benny Gantz and MK Orly Levy-Abekasis and [former Habayit Hayehudi leader and MK] Naftali Bennett and Ayelet Shaked," the Knesset speaker warned.
Edelstein went on to say that "democracy depends on the work of the Knesset alongside the work of the cabinet, not paralyzing the Knesset. Do you want a real right-wing government? With a strong Knesset and a strong cabinet? The Likud is the only party that's left.
"Going into the election, I'm very worried. There used to be only one party that didn't hold primaries. Then there were two [the haredi parties], then three, and then four. In most of the parties running in this election, one person makes the decisions. They either sit in the next Knesset or go home. That hurts Israeli democracy. Only in a few parties do members still elect their representatives, and that should be the message if we want to protect a democratically elected Knesset that is able to provide oversight of the government," Edelstein said.
