Politics of Lehavim
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| This article is part of a series on the politics and government of Lehavim |
The politics of Lehavim take place within the framework of a parliamentary representative democracy and a republic, in which the Head of State is the President of Lehavim and the Head of Government, is the Premier of Lehavim. The legislature of Lehavim, the Lehavimi Knesset, is composed by 125 members or MKs and presided by a Speaker.
The political history of Lehavim after its independence has been marked by an initial short living liberal democracy, a far-right dictatorship and a transition period that concluded with the current form of government. During these three historical moments, Lehavim has seen political figures like Odelia Yadin (female activist and impulsor of women's suffrage in Lehavim), Yered Levitt (first Premier of the country after independence), Josef Shmerkin (first Premier in transition) and Irina Fleischer (first female and actual Premier). Since the restoration of democracy in 1976, politics have been dominated by the centre-left Progressive Party and the centre-right People's Party; however, in recent times, smaller parliamentary groups like the Liberal Party and the The Greens have grown in importance to form coalitions and provide stable legislatures. A key political party in the history of Lehavim has been the Socialist Party, which served as a driving force of a progressive legislation during the first years of independence until the first government of Abarron Hyamson that concluded with the dictatorship; in recent years though, Socialists have remained as a secondary party after the formation of a greater Progressive coalition.
The current Constitution of Lehavim defines the state as a parliamentary republic and vests executive power on a President and a Premier, with the first one being universally elected every six years with fixed terms, while the second is elected by the Knesset after general elections, usually granting confidence to the most voted candidate. In the same way, Members of the Knesset are elected every four years or when the legislature is exhausted. The Judiciary is divided between secular and religious courts, each located on different areas attending population composition. The courts are overseen by the Supreme Court of Lehavim from its seat on Habafar; the court, composed by 15 judges, is presided by a President and a Minister of Justice, and is often regarded to as independent. In recent years, efforts have been made to establish new courts specialised in issues related to family, gender and labour.
Executive
The executive of Lehavim is composed by the President, the Premier and his or her cabinet. Although the President, elected by universal suffrage every six years, holds certain power in approving important cabinet decisions, his presence is purely ceremonial nowadays and usually restricted to the representation of Lehavim overseas. The Premier, elected every four years or until the legislature is exhausted, holds the most important role in Lehavimi politics; the position is elected during general elections by universal suffrage although the results in these elections will define the confidence of the legislature and the candidatures proposed by the President. The ministers or members of cabinet are usually recommended by te Premier and appointed by the President.
Cabinet
The following is a table of the current composition of the cabinet led by Irina Fleischer.
| Cabinet of Irina Fleischer (2019-2022) | |||
| Political party | Progressive Party | ||
| The Greens | |||
| Socialist Party | |||
| Position | Name | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Premier's Office | |||
| Premier | Irina Fleischer | ||
| First Deputy Premier | Yaakov Rivkin | ||
| Second Deputy Premier | Efrat Gestetner | ||
| Third Deputy Premier | Jerrod Shkolnik | ||
| Ministry of Foreign Affairs | |||
| Minister of Foreign Affairs | Leah Lebzelter | ||
| Ministry of Economy and Fiscal Policy | |||
| Minister of Economy and Fiscal Policy | Yaakov Rivkin | ||
| Ministry of Education | |||
| Minister of Education | Azriel Helfgott | ||
| Ministry of Culture and Religious Affairs | |||
| Minister of Culture and Sport | Gaya Zalkind | ||
| Minister of Religious Affairs | Nathaniel Lieberman | ||
| Ministry of Defence | |||
| Minister of Defence | Hiram Shub | ||
| Ministry of Interior | |||
| Minister of Interior | Benjamin Goldberg | ||
| Ministry of Justice | |||
| Minister of Justice | Shifra Herzog | ||
| Ministry of Environment and Territory | |||
| Minister of Environment and Territory | Efrat Gestetner | ||
| Ministry of Labour and Social Security | |||
| Minister of Labour and Social Security | Gilla Lehrer | ||
| Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport | |||
| Minister of Infrastructure and Transport | Yana Kostiner | ||
| Ministry of Welfare | |||
| Minister of Welfare | Irina Shalit | ||
| Ministry of Agriculture, Stockbreeding and Fishing | |||
| Minister of Agriculture, Stockbreeding and Fishing | Jerrod Shkolnik | ||
| Ministry of Healthcare | |||
| Minister of Healthcare | Meyer Hillman | ||
| Ministry of Digital Transition | |||
| Minister of Digital Transition | Miryam Kadish | ||
| Ministry of Science and Technology | |||
| Minister of Science and Technology | Eli Argov | ||
| Ministry of Trade, Energy and Industry | |||
| Minister of Trade | Isaac Alfie | ||
| Minister of Energy and Industry | Ariel Barnato | ||
| Minister of Shipping | Ariel Barnato | ||
Legislative branch
Lehavimi elects a legislature by universal suffrage. The legislative branch of power is consolidated in the Lehavimi Knesset, a legislature composed by 125 members that are elected by proportional representation and allocated using the D'Hondt method. Lehavim incorporated, in 2010, a threshold of 3.25% to political parties aiming to achieve a seat in the Knesset.
The low threshold enforced in Lehavimi politics has meant that since before the dictatorship, no single political party has achieved governing alone, meaning that no faction won 61 seats needed for a majority. Since the independence of Lehavim, political parties aiming to form governments were forced to form coalitions with other similar political parties, forming during several times, an environment of political instability, making it almost impossible to pass legislation, budgets or achieve confidence.
Although the legislature is in charge of discussing and approving budgets, create bills and pass laws, declare war or a national emergency, among some things, it is also in charge of proposing and voting a Premier and its cabinet. After general elections, the President ask every leader in the Knesset to propose a future Premier, who will expose his or her platform to be later granted confidence by the rest of members of the Knesset. As a general law in Lehavimi politics, political parties usually propose leaders with he most chances of achieving confidence and the President allows an investiture ceremony on the candidate with the most chances of forming an alliance or coalition.
Elections
List of political parties
| Party Name | Party Logo | Coalition | Party leader | Seats in the Knesset | Ideology | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Progressive Party | 
|
Irina Fleischer | 35 / 125
|
Social democracy, democratic socialism, progressivism, humanism, welfare state | ||
| People's Party | 
|
Gabor Levitsky | 24 / 125
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Conservative liberalism, economic liberalism | ||
| Liberal Party | 
|
Larissa Jerayesh | 19 / 125
|
Economic liberalism, social liberalism | ||
| The Greens | 
|
Efrat Gestetner | 16 / 125
|
Progressivism, green politics, democratic socialism | ||
| Socialist Party | 
|
Jerrod Shkolnik | 13 / 125
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Socialism, social democracy, labour zionism | ||
| Compromise | 
|
Golda Laski | 8 / 125
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| One Nation | 
|
Larissa Zeiman | 5 / 125
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National liberalism, economic liberalism, conservatism | ||
| National List | 
|
Hezekiah Krickstein | 3 / 125
|
Religious conservatism, religious nationalism, Orthodox interests | ||
| Brotherhood | Elam Einhorn | 2 / 125
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