Government Corruption? Not Here!
Like many others Knesset Chairman Reuven Rivlin has Ariel
Sharon to thank for his seat in the Knesset. Rivlin holds the
36th place on the Likud list and without Sharon's popularity
the party would not have raked in 38 mandates, leaving Rivlin
out of the loop.
Even Rivlin himself doubted his chances of election. Until
the eve of the election the poll forecasts showed the Likud
would win 34-35 mandates at most. Just two days before the
election some predicted 36. None mentioned 38.
Rivlin's position on the list was determined by the Likud
Center, whose members held little fondness for him. When
Rivlin served as Communications Minister he handed out jobs
sparingly and apparently did not do favors for Likud Center
members readily enough. So they punished him at the
ballot.
As the next elections roll around, Rivlin seems to have
learned his lesson, for lately he appears to be making every
effort to gain the Likud Center's favor. For example, when
the State Comptroller released a report on the political
appointments by Tzachi Hanegbi and the media storm that
formed against him, Rivlin was among the first to come to his
defense. He was well aware that Likud Center members would
not soon forget who stood by Hanegbi—considered one of
the best liked figures at the Likud Center—particularly
since he stood accused of favoritism and appointments of
Likud Center members.
At a recent conference on government corruption, Rivlin
delivered a speech sharply denying claims that excessive
government corruption is posing a threat to democracy. "Why
are most Israelis certain this country is run in a corrupt
way and that corruption has reached every corner?" he asked.
"And what is this corruption? Is this institutionalized
government corruption in which government apparatuses operate
in a corrupt manner? Is this a culture of baksheesh? Of
bribery? Is every tender fixed, every trial sold? In short,
is Israel a classic third-world country? I believe we are far
from this."
He also had answers to these questions, with unambiguous
hints as to who was guilty of convincing the public
corruption is ubiquitous. To the Likud Center every word was
worth gold. Rivlin accused the media, the Left, the wealthy,
the State Prosecutor—in short everyone the Likud Center
does not hold in high esteem.
"I would not presume to claim there is no corruption here,
but I definitely believe the situation is not as it is
depicted by certain people with vested interests . . . I
believe there is someone interested in fanning the flames of
history. There is someone who is looking for corruption under
every stone, bribery in every corner . . . "
He said the various cases of corruption cited in the
Comptroller's reports are just isolated incidents and the
result of "negligence or stupidity" rather than corruption.
"The big carnival surrounding political nominations and job
handouts distracts the public's attention from the discussion
of the real questions of government capital that arise in
every area of Israel's small, centralized economy . . . I am
convinced that there, in the twilight zone between politics
and macroeconomics, there lies the topic of discussion
of this gathering, and not in the question of whether some
minister or another gave or did not give a sorry job to a
Center member. But it's much easier to focus on jobs. It's
more colorful. It's mass drama. And most of all, there is no
need to work too hard. No serious investigative report in the
newspaper, no police investigation that finds concrete facts
and no legal work that forms an evidential foundation that
can hold water."
Any Likud Center members who happened to be there to hear the
speech must have been clasping his hands with delight and can
be counted on to pass its contents onto all of the members.
But Rivlin probably won't rely on that. He'll send a copy of
the speech to all 3,000 Likud Center members, just as he did
with a letter on the issue of disengagement. Or else he'll
find another way to ensure that the speech reaches Likud
Center members. This kind of speech is worth votes at the
Center ballot, and lots of them. And Center votes is the name
of the game today in the Likud. In fact, it always has
been.
