BICOM

A controversial bill to expand Israel’s cabinet, spearheaded by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, yesterday passed a first Knesset reading by a slim margin of 61 votes to 59 votes.

Netanyahu last week successfully formed a single-seat majority government, following his election victory in March. Given the coalition’s precarious advantage, Netanyahu is attempting to push through a Knesset bill to increase the number of ministers from 18 to 22, which he hopes will help placate the ministerial ambitions of his coalition partners and fellow Likud MKs. However, opposition parties Yesh Atid and Zionist Union have pledged to virulently oppose the legislation. They argue that the change would cost millions of shekels purely to satisfy Netanyahu’s political needs. It is also an opportunity for the opposition to highlight the government’s fragile majority.

Indeed, the coalition required each of its 61 members to vote yesterday in order to give the bill initial approval. In the absence of a Knesset Constitution, Law and Justice Committee, which has not yet been formed in the new Knesset, a special committee will today work to prepare the legislation for second and third readings. A plenum debate is expected to last late into tomorrow night, with the opposition planning to submit thousands of amendments.

Only when the Knesset approves the bill will Netanyahu meet with Likud MKs to inform them which ministerial roles they will receive. He told the Likud faction yesterday, “Dividing portfolios is not simple, because we have so many terrific MKs, but I have to tell you it’s a lot easier than giving posts in the opposition.” Netanyahu hopes to officially swear in a new government later this week or early next week.

Meanwhile, opposition leader Isaac Herzog commented, “Netanyahu will try to survive with a coalition of 61 … I don’t intend to help him. I intend to replace him.” Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid said that Netanyahu is convinced “no one cares” about cabinet expansion, but that his party “won’t let it pass.”