Yisrael Beytenu, Bayit Yehudi call for ‘Norwegian Law’

JPOST

Bayit Yahudi joined Yisrael Beytenu’s years-long call to adopt a law under which ministers would stop serving as MKs.

The “Norwegian Law,” based on the model of the Scandinavian country’s government, requires each minister to be replaced in the legislature by a candidate from his or her party’s ballot. If the minister is fired or resigns, he or she would reclaim a place in the Knesset and the substitute would no longer be a lawmaker.

Yisrael Beytenu has been calling for the “Norwegian Law” to be instated since the party’s inception, and six months ago changed its regulations to require all of the party’s ministers, except for its chairman, to resign from the Knesset.

“We’re happy Bayit Yehudi is joining our initiative,” said Yisrael Beytenu’s spokesman Tal Nahum.

“From the day we were founded, we have wanted electoral reform, and this was part of it. This creates a separation of powers. When a minister can’t be an MK, it separates the executive and legislative branches.”

Bayit Yehudi’s version of the law would differ slightly from the Norwegian model, in that it would make it optional for a minister to resign from Knesset while maintaining the mechanism for him or her to return to the legislature.

“Adopting the Norwegian model will help improve the Knesset’s work, government stability and the Knesset’s image,” MK Ayelet Shaked (Bayit Yehudi) said.

Shaked pointed out that part of the Knesset’s job is to supervise the ministers’ work, meaning that ministers who are MKs are, in a sense, monitoring themselves.