Likud Beytenu needs to think about why it was weakened in the election and try
to improve, Knesset Speaker Reuven Rivlin said on Thursday.
Using a
soccer metaphor, Rivlin said “the public is not happy with the team it
supported. Sometimes the [umpire] takes out yellow and red cards. The public
gave a yellow card to the Likud, and we will draw conclusions and learn lessons
[related] to our decline.”
Rivlin spoke to the press while visiting
Central Elections Committee chairman Justice Elyakim Rubinstein, who was
counting final votes from soldiers and prisoners.
Rivlin said he expects
to continue in his current role after the 19th Knesset is sworn in on February
5.
“I worked to promote democracy, for the possibility of influencing and
keeping the rules of the game,” he explained. “People voted for me not so I will
be a minister; rather, they want me to continue in my job.”
As for the
coalition talks, Rivlin said that “a coalition’s weakness is also its strength,
because everyone knows the coalition could fall apart. Therefore, coalition
agreements cannot be ambiguous. Negotiations will be profound.”
At the
same time, he predicted that some topics will have to be dealt with later on,
because the sides will not be able to come to an agreement during preliminary
talks.
Meanwhile, Knesset workers are preparing materials for a one-day
workshop for the 48 new incoming MKs, so they can receive the tools of their
trade. The course, which will take place on February 3, will be taught by
several senior Knesset employees.
Knesset secretary Yardena
Maller-Horowitz will discuss procedure with the group and explain how to propose
a bill, and explain what parliamentary questions and motions to the agenda
are.
Knesset legal adviser Eyal Yinon will describe the services his
office provides, and new MKs will also learn about the Knesset Research and
Information Center.
The 48 incoming lawmakers will also discover the
logistics of working in the Knesset – such as how its computer system works and
what their salary and benefits are.
“We’ll give them a first taste and
tell them what they can expect,” Knesset spokesman Yotam Yakir explained. “It’s
very important, especially in light of the large number of new MKs.”
The
course will continue for at least one more day after the Knesset is already
sworn in, because, as Yakir put it, “it is impossible to teach everything in one
day.”
He added that the workshop is not a new idea, and had been attended
by previous incoming Knesset members.