Strong opposition voiced in Knesset committee to heightened powers for PM
Opposition leader and Yesh Atid leader MK Yair Lapid decried the bill saying it would hand extraordinary powers to the prime minister who, he said, had failed in his management of the epidemic.
By JEREMY SHARONOpposition leader Yair Lapid at the Ma’ariv newspaper’s OECD Conference on Sunday.(photo credit: MAARIV)
Strong dissent from coalition and opposition MKs was voiced in the Knesset Constitution, Law and Justice Committee on Monday to clauses in coronavirus legislation that would grant the prime minister far-reaching powers in tackling the coronavirus crisis.Opposition leader and Yesh Atid leader MK Yair Lapid decried the bill saying it would hand extraordinary powers to the prime minister who, he said, had failed in his management of the epidemic.And Likud MK Gidon Saar said that the powers afforded the prime minister would void the Knesset’s ability to check the executive’s power.The clause in question in what has become known as the “Big Coronavirus Law” states that “The Prime Minister will oversee the execution of this law, and he will be entitled to enact regulations for enacting the law, while regulations to create restricted regions will be enacted by the government.”Saar said that the law would grant “very broad authorities” to the government, and questioned whether the Knesset would be able to reign in its actions if it saw fit.“Parliamentary oversight is what will save this country. The Knesset will not empty itself of power voluntarily,” Saar insisted.He argued out that numerous government decisions have recently been successfully challenged by the Knesset, and said that the bill under discussion would negate that ability.“Stop viewing people as subjects. They are people with rights and the minimum they deserve is a public debate,” said the Likud MK who is a committee member and could have a crucial vote on the legislation when it comes to a vote.Lapid was more scathing, saying that the bill would “sabotage the Knesset’s sovereignty and reduce it to an afterthought.“This is not done even during times of war or other no-less serious crises. Democracy is tested in times of crisis,” said the opposition leader.“To give a man who has failed all this legal authority and to call it ‘regulations for enactment’ - these are not regulations but serious legislation.“They did this in Hungary, they tried in Poland and it must not happen in Israel,” warned Lapid in reference to legislation passed, or attempted in those countries, particularly Hungary which has given the prime minister such extensive powers that critics have said have undermined democratic norms there.
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