With no designated deputy, Netanyahu keeps spotlight to himself
In the US for 5 days and without a permanent stand-in, the PM has appointed Yuval Steinitz as the latest Likud understudy to wield no power
Raoul Wootliff is a former Times of Israel political correspondent and Daily Briefing podcast producer.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu traveled to New York Tuesday afternoon for a five-day trip that included what was presumably his last meeting with US President Barack Obama.
With no permanent deputy, Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz was appointed as temporary acting prime minister for the duration of the trip, tasked with calling and chairing cabinet meetings in case of an emergency.
Since coming to power in 2009, Netanyahu has never named a permanent designated replacement, who would automatically take over leadership of the country if he were unexpectedly indisposed or removed from office by impeachment.
Instead, each time he travels abroad Netanyahu names a different senior Likud minister as his temporary stand-in.
During a trip he made to Holland two weeks ago, Tourism Minister Yariv Levin was appointed as acting prime minister. Transportation Minister Yisrael Katz had held the position during previous trips, but apparently lost that privilege following his spat with Netanyahu over railway construction work on Shabbat. Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan also fulfilled the role in the past, as did former defense minister Moshe Ya’alon, when he was still a part of the cabinet.
“For each trip abroad, the prime minister makes the decision based on current events and other commitments that ministers may have,” Prime Minister’s Office spokesman David Baker told The Times of Israel, adding that a different process would apply were Netanyahu unexpectedly incapable of carrying out his responsibilities.
“There is no specific reason why he doesn’t have the same person fill his place every time,” he said.
‘Senseless’ and ‘unreasonable’
But the choice of current stand-in Steinitz, and indeed Levin before him, presents an additional obstacle that wouldn’t exist with 10 of the 24 other ministers Netanyhau could have chosen. While Steinitz can call and chair cabinet meetings if needed, he is not a permanent member of the the more exclusive Security Cabinet — which is tasked with outlining and implementing foreign and defense policy — and thus would be unable to convene that forum should a national security emergency arise. Netanyahu, therefore, also had to specifically designate Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman as someone who could convene the Security Cabinet if necessary during the prime minister’s current US trip, according to Baker.
The absence of a designated acting prime minister would create an even more confusing situation if Netanyahu were to be incapacitated unexpectedly.
In 2013 when Netanyhau had a small operation under general anesthetic, he transferred the prime minister’s authority to Ya’alon. But if there were an unplanned medical emergency, the cabinet secretary would have to convene a cabinet meeting and government ministers would have to vote on who should take over. Bizarrely, if Netanyahu became incapacitated while abroad, the temporary acting prime minister would not automatically continue in the role.
Prof. Gideon Rahat, the director of research of the Israel Democracy Institute’s Political Reform Project, says that the lack of a permanent deputy creates unnecessary uncertainty.
“It’s senseless,” Rahat told The Times of Israel. “The law suggests that he should appoint a [replacement], and not to fulfill that is unreasonable.”
Israel’s Basic Law: The Government states that, “Failing the appointment of a designated acting prime Minister… the government shall designate another minister.” Rahat says this is an indication that appointing a replacement is expected of the prime minister.
Since the position of designated replacement was first instituted into law (as part of the 1984 rotation agreement for Labor’s Shimon Peres and Likud’s Yitzhak Shamir to each serve two years as prime minister), not every premier has filled it.
When Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated in 1995 there was no designated replacement and Shimon Peres only became the interim prime minister after a cabinet vote. Ehud Olmert, on the other hand, assumed the prime minister’s authority immediately after Ariel Sharon suffered a stroke in 2006, having been appointed as a potential replacement three years earlier.
‘Classic Netanyahu’
Rahat, who is also an associate professor in Hebrew University’s Political Science department, described the current situation as “classic Netanyahu,” saying that the prime minister is known for favoring political maneuvering over coherent policy.
“This is another method of Netanyahu to neutralize competition from within. He doesn’t let anyone grow within his close circle — the basis of his power is that he is perceived to be the only one capable of serving as prime minister,” Rahat said. “It’s classic Netanyahu to appoint someone different every time so that no one is seen as a potential replacement.”
Even under the current arrangement, Steinitz will be prevented from publicly appearing as a potential replacement, with next Sunday’s weekly cabinet meeting postponed until Netanyahu returns from the US, rather than having it led by anyone else. In fact, since his election in 2009 Netanyahu has never let any other minister chair a cabinet meeting, always choosing to postpone or cancel if he is abroad.
The prime minister’s attitude towards potential Likud rivals has over the years led to an exodus of some of Netanyahu’s most prominent possible successors.
Moshe Kahlon left the party in 2013 to form the Kulanu party which now holds 10 Knesset seats. Some two years later, in late 2014, Gideon Sa’ar announced his retirement from politics, although he continues to feed the rumors of a possible return. And most recently, Ya’alon was effectively ousted from his position earlier this year amid a political crisis that saw Liberman take his place. He too has suggested he will return to the political arena.
It is perhaps due to the fear of creating potential challengers that Netanyahu has also forgone his former practice of appointing the honorary positions of deputy prime minister and vice prime minister.
The deputy and vice have no official executive power, and are no more entitled to replace an incapacitated prime minister than other cabinet members, but Netanyahu bestowed the title upon a slew of ministers — both during his first term from 1996-1999 and between 2009-2015 — as a way of keeping cabinet members content and on-board.
Now, it appears Netanyahu prefers his ministers to be out of the spotlight with a frown, rather than in it with a smile.
In the meantime, abroad and at home, Netanyahu seeks to remain the one, only and irreplaceable prime minister.
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