Knesset Vs. Public

On the political Right, people point to
the huge disparity between the week-
end opinion polls regarding the presi-
dency and what in fact transpired in
the Knesset on Monday. The polls
showed Peres favored by three times as
many Israelis as Katsay. Yet Katsav
won.
Perhaps, they say, the polls are also
way off when it comes to the negotia-
tions with the Palestinians.
Pollsters and left-of-center pundits,
though, maintain that the "inaccuracy"
of the polls in terms of who would win
the presidential contest proves that the
Knesset is way to the right of the pub-
lic.
Hence its insistence on voting for
Katsav even though Peres was the more
popular candidate. And hence its deter-
mination, if it can, to bring Barak
down before he can take a peace accord
with Yasser Arafat to the Israeli people.
On Monday afternoon, in the after-
math of the dramatic presidential vote,
Sharon's vaunted "national camp
majority" failed to gel in a no-confi-
dence motion against Barak. Only 50
members supported the motion, which
needed 61 of the Knesset's 120 mem-
bers to bring the premier and his gov-
ernment down.
Because Knesset rules preclude
motions of no confidence during the
summer recess, which began this week,
Barak has thus ensured his survival for
the next three months.
But even the prime minister's most
diehard loyalists are not fooling them-
selves that his present, precarious situa-

tion can be maintained indefinitely.
With the recent defections of the
three parties, Barak's coalition now has
only 42 Knesset seats, leaving him
without a majority to pass his govern-
ment's program. On measure after
measure, the opposition seems to be
able to pull together ad-hoc majorities
to get its way.
On Wednesday, before the Knesset's
recess, Barak suffered two more blows.
Foreign Minister David Levy resigned,
alluding to the fact that Barak had
excluded Levy from the Camp David
summit.
At the same time, the Knesset voted
61-51 on a preliminary bill calling for
new elections. Three more votes are
required on the bill, and the Knesset
can't take up the issue again until it
reconvenes in late October.

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Sharon vowed Tuesday that the recess
would give the beleaguered Barak no
peace.
"Our children and grandchildren
can go on vacation," the Likud leader
said. "But there'll be no holiday for us.
We'll be here, day in and day out,
attacking the prime minister."
The only question seems to be:
when will elections be held. Some
politicians suggest the spring of 2001.
Others say Barak will be unable to gov-
ern until then, that he will be unable to
push through the state budget at year's
end.
Either way, the present government's
days seem numbered.

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Katsav has been a member of the
Knesset since 1977. In 1977-81, he
was a member of the Knesset
Committee on Interior Affairs and
the Environment, and the
Committee on Education and
Culture. He also served as chairman
of the Knesset Members' Lobby for
Development Towns.
Katsav later served as deputy min-
ister of housing and construction
(1981-84), minister of labor and
social affairs (1984-88) and minister
of transportation (1988-92).
In the 13th Knesset (1992-96),
he was chairman of the Likud fac-
tion in the Knesset, member of the
Knesset House Committee and
chairman of the Israel-China
Parliamentary Friendship League.
Katsav served as minister of
tourism and deputy prime minister

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from June 1996-July 1999. He also
served as minister in charge of
Israeli Arab affairs.
He was re-elected to the 15th
Knesset in May 1999.
Katsav is married and has five

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8/4
2000

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