Justice Minister Gideon Sa’ar’s bill initiating term limits of eight years for prime minister passed its first reading in the Knesset on Monday by a vote of 66 to 48.
The Joint List joined the coalition in voting for the bill, which still must pass in committee and two more readings in the plenum.
In introducing the term limit bill, Sa’ar said Likud MKs quietly back it the most. He urges them to vote according to what they say behind closed doors.
Sa’ar mocked opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu for opposing the bill even though it would not apply retroactively to him. He recalled a long list of instances in which Netanyahu expressed support for term limits and other changes in the electoral system.
כן, שינינו את כללי המשחק: עובדים למען אזרחי ישראל ולא למען האינטרסים האישיים של אדם אחד. pic.twitter.com/BFV2AW723Z
— Gideon Sa'ar | גדעון סער (@gidonsaar) November 22, 2021
Netanyahu lashed out at Sa’ar and Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, who polls show are far behind him on the question of who is most fit to be prime minister. He said Bennett, Sa’ar and Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid displayed chutzpah for claiming they are maintaining democracy, when they are taking the elementary right to choose their leader away from the people.
“It won’t help them,” Netanyahu said. “We will return to power and repeal these anti-democratic laws.”
Likud MK Miri Regev said Saar is acting out of fear of polls and is “a-f-r-a-i-d,” a reference to an infamous statement by Netanyahu.
Lapid refuted criticism that the term limit bill set to be passed in the Knesset on Monday is aimed at Netanyahu, who would still be permitted to serve eight years as prime minister if it passed into law.
“I heard the claim that the bill is personal,” Lapid told his faction. “It is personal against Bennett, the current prime minister, and against me, because the law says I will be prime minister after him.”
Lapid said Netanyahu’s trial on Monday was proof of why the bill is necessary.
“We are legislating it because it’s not healthy for a democracy for a prime minister to be in power for more than eight years,” Lapid said. “We see in court nowadays how staying in power too long leads to corruption. We will put a stop to it.”
Defense Minister Benny Gantz praised the term limit bill in his Blue and White faction, saying it was the first bill he presented when he entered the Knesset.
“It will help bring about better quality governance,” Gantz said. “It will change the prime minister from a Survivor [reality show] star who tries to make it from term to term, to a leader who can look ahead to the future.”
Sa’ar went further, saying that passing term limits would release the country from the captivity of governments that serve politicians.
“Instead of unlimited terms, we are bringing a better, balanced proposal of term limits,” Sa’ar told his New Hope faction.