Netanyahu has much to do

RON FRIEDMAN

Passover had barely passed and, already, Israeli streets were filling with flags in anticipation of Yom Ha'atzmaut. After two weeks of holidays, there was a general feeling of the country getting rolling again. Schools, public services and businesses were once again functioning regularly and the government offices, dormant for so long – roughly since the general elections back in February – could now begin their work in earnest, under new leadership.

Binyamin Netanyahu and his historically large new government are now getting to work on running the country. The government is made up of 30 ministers and eight deputy ministers. Roughly half of Netanyahu's 74-member coalition is in the cabinet.

There will be no shortage of work for the social welfare offices. The officials of the ministries of health, immigrant absorption and social services have been waiting for their new ministers to authorize budgets so they can offer up their much-needed services in these trying economic times.

The ministries of agriculture, trade and security should have a smooth transition as their ministers never left. Six Labor members of Knesset (MK) are the only remnants of the previous Olmert government. Led by Ehud Barak, the six fought harsh criticism among their party members, but eventually managed to hold onto their seats, some say, at the expense of the future existence of the party.

After Netanyahu's first choice for justice minister, the incumbent Daniel Friedman, was vetoed by Barak, the Likud's Ya'akov Ne'eman took his place. He is expected to carry on with his predecessor's turf wars with the Supreme Court and the attorney general from day one.

The previous Knesset's most active parliamentarian, the Likud's Gilad Erdan, will have his hands full as minister for environmental protection. Green-minded Israelis hope he will display the same drive he showed passing laws concerning consumer rights when fighting polluters in his new job.

Israel's security should be well taken care of, especially now that there are four ministers looking after it: Barak, defence secretary; Moshe Ya'alon, minister in charge of strategic threats; Dan Meridor, minister of intelligence and atomic energy; and Yitzhak Aharonovitch, minister of internal security, plus, an additional deputy minister, Matan Vilnai.

A new government post that should be of particular interest to readers is the minister of hasbarah (public relations) and Diaspora affairs. The Likud's Yuli (Yoel) Edelstein, a former refusnik who immigrated to Israel in 1987, will resurrect this ministry that was dismantled after less than a year of operation in 1974. Israeli bloggers were quick to bemoan what they called "the ministry of propaganda," but Edelstein won a swift victory with the walkout from the Durban II conference in Geneva.

The same can be said of Israel's new and decidedly undiplomatic Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman. Lieberman, who renounced the Annapolis Peace Process, the heart of the former government's foreign policy, in his first public appearance after the swearing in, is reaping the benefits of Tzipi Livni's diplomatic efforts from the past three years. Lieberman seems bent on rejecting every peace deal that is on the table. He, rather dramatically, called the right of return clause in the Arab peace initiative "a recipe for Israel's destruction." He even described the two-state solution as "an empty slogan." Neither he nor Netanyahu have yet to present a coherent picture of the new government's overall foreign policy.

As part of coalition negotiations, Netanyahu designated four cabinet positions for ministers without a portfolio. The positions come fully equipped with all the trimmings of a ministerial job – offices, vehicles, a full staff and a generous expense account – but aside from Avishai Braverman, who is mandated to deal with minority issues, none of the ministers have been assigned responsibilities.

In an inexplicable turn, Netanyahu decided not to designate a minister for the ministry of health. Instead, he will keep the portfolio himself and has assigned a deputy minister to the task. The ministry of health is the third largest ministry in terms of budget allocation, after the ministries of defence and education. Doctors unions and civic groups have expressed disappointment and anger at the move and the Israeli Medical Association has began distributing buttons reading "Patients deserve a full-time minister of health" to patients and visitors in hospitals.

The country's finance minister is first-time Minister Yuval Steinitz. Steinitz, a philosophy professor and author, has little experience in economics and some think this indicates that Netanyahu plans to exercise control of the finance ministry, as well. The pair presented their "emergency economic plan for 2009 and 2010," valued at more than 20 billion NIS, in a press conference at the prime minister's office.

To make sure that this record-breaking government is kept accountable, the post of minister of improvement of government services was created and assigned to Likud's Michael Eitan, but it will take more than just an executive decision to regain the trust of Israel's citizen body. Israelis have grown tired and become cynical of politicians' promises. A long string of corruption scandals that reached their height in the outgoing Olmert government means the new bunch have to prove themselves honest and capable before being given the benefit of the doubt.

With Israel hard hit by the global economic crisis and predicted to lose some 130,000 jobs by the end of the year, a stalled peace process with a divided Palestinian voice, a looming threat from Iran and its proxies, expanding social gaps and a busy United States president, Netanyahu has a difficult time ahead of him. It will take all of his considerable political skills to keep this massive machine on track and on message, but one thing is certain, if he fails, it won't be because there weren't enough hands on deck.

Ron Friedman is a freelance writer from Israel.

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