Likud: Netanyahu opposes any proposal to set term limits on premiership

Former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party comes out against legislation setting term limits on the premiership.

A statement from the party says Netanyahu, now opposition leader, “rejects any law that limits terms, whether it applies to him or not.”

Netanyahu served over 14 years as prime minister, including 12 consecutively since 2009. The bill approved today by the Ministerial Committee for Legislation, which would limit prime ministers to eight years in office, is not retroactive and wouldn’t apply to Netanyahu if eventually okayed by the Knesset.

“Parliamentary democracies don’t limit the terms of prime ministers but leave the public to choose in free elections who will continue to lead it,” Likud says.

The party notes the lengthy terms of some heads of government in Canada and Germany, including the latter’s outgoing Chancellor Angela Markel.

“No one thought that Canada or German aren’t model democracies,” Likud says.