There is no joy in the NRP today, following the defeat of three proposed face-lifting recommendations in the party institutions yesterday.
Some 400 Central Committee members, out of a total of 1,000, gathered in Tel Aviv and voted by approximately a 60-40 margin to reject the three proposals that had been advanced by the party leadership. The votes were widely seen to be a defeat for party leader Housing Minister Effie Eitam. Some debated this interpretation, however, as his main challenger, Welfare Minister Zevulun Orlev, was the original sponsor of the changes - although he just recently withdrew his support.
The defeated proposals were: to reserve 10% of the Central Committee slots for the "younger" generation up to age 30; to increase the number of Central Committee members from 1,000 to 1,500; and, most significantly, to choose the party leader in public primaries among the entire party membership.
The current Central Committee was chosen close to 12 years ago. A new one will be chosen a year from now, following the upcoming membership drive.
Former NRP leader Rabbi Yitzchak Levy told Arutz-7 this morning,
"I am disappointed. I had hoped that the Central Office would lend a hand to some face-lifting and some innovations, but once again it has disappointed us. Instead, they just wanted to keep the power their its own hands. This is a problem in other parties as well, and it actually raises a bunch of question marks regarding the entire system."
Minister Eitam responded more forcefully:
"This was the decision of a workers union that wanted to eternalize its power."
Rabbi Levy emphasized that he does not see the vote as a "lack of confidence in Knesset faction [that backed the changes], nor as a victory for Orlev over Eitam - but rather what I said: the Central Committee is conservative and doesn't want to make changes... We had hoped that we could now begin a new membership drive with the added enticement of getting people to join the party knowing that they could take an active part in choosing the party leader. We had hoped to bring in new and younger blood - people who would feel that they had a good chance of joining the Central Committee, etc. Now, there is nothing special to attract new people to join..." One Central Committee member said that all was not that bleak: "At least 20% of the current 1,000 members will not run again in any event, such that there is still room for new people."
Rabbi Levy acknowledged that there were tensions between the two ministers, Eitam and Orlev, but expressed hopeful confidence that these would largely evaporate "now that yesterday's vote is behind us."
Some 400 Central Committee members, out of a total of 1,000, gathered in Tel Aviv and voted by approximately a 60-40 margin to reject the three proposals that had been advanced by the party leadership. The votes were widely seen to be a defeat for party leader Housing Minister Effie Eitam. Some debated this interpretation, however, as his main challenger, Welfare Minister Zevulun Orlev, was the original sponsor of the changes - although he just recently withdrew his support.
The defeated proposals were: to reserve 10% of the Central Committee slots for the "younger" generation up to age 30; to increase the number of Central Committee members from 1,000 to 1,500; and, most significantly, to choose the party leader in public primaries among the entire party membership.
The current Central Committee was chosen close to 12 years ago. A new one will be chosen a year from now, following the upcoming membership drive.
Former NRP leader Rabbi Yitzchak Levy told Arutz-7 this morning,
"I am disappointed. I had hoped that the Central Office would lend a hand to some face-lifting and some innovations, but once again it has disappointed us. Instead, they just wanted to keep the power their its own hands. This is a problem in other parties as well, and it actually raises a bunch of question marks regarding the entire system."
Minister Eitam responded more forcefully:
"This was the decision of a workers union that wanted to eternalize its power."
Rabbi Levy emphasized that he does not see the vote as a "lack of confidence in Knesset faction [that backed the changes], nor as a victory for Orlev over Eitam - but rather what I said: the Central Committee is conservative and doesn't want to make changes... We had hoped that we could now begin a new membership drive with the added enticement of getting people to join the party knowing that they could take an active part in choosing the party leader. We had hoped to bring in new and younger blood - people who would feel that they had a good chance of joining the Central Committee, etc. Now, there is nothing special to attract new people to join..." One Central Committee member said that all was not that bleak: "At least 20% of the current 1,000 members will not run again in any event, such that there is still room for new people."
Rabbi Levy acknowledged that there were tensions between the two ministers, Eitam and Orlev, but expressed hopeful confidence that these would largely evaporate "now that yesterday's vote is behind us."