The Politicians and the Bureaucrats
By David Verveer
The fight between the political people and the bureaucrats is just as old as the term democracy, and unlike other arguments, I hope it will continue to exist, as both ways of thought have the right to exist.
A politician depends on his friends and followers to be elected, to be proposed for selection for that post, as they considered him the best candidate to give them the benefits they hoped for. After his election, whatever the politician does, it all smells of corruption and bribes, even if it is never so intended. A politician, who does not have friends and yes-men, can not survive as a democratic candidate.
On the other hand, the bureaucrat is not elected, but appointed by his professional qualifications, and his job is to execute the law and the decisions of the politician heading his office.
The politician has to be kind, friendly, politically right and popular, and the bureaucrat doesn't have to care what act is more popular by the people, his job is to look after the interest of his office.
Both types of people are necessary to keep the democratic system running and functioning, but as humans are peculiar creatures, the strife between those two types can not be prevented. Our prime minister, far from being perfect and holy, enjoyed like all politicians to benefit from his function and position, by getting a better deal on real estate, or helping a friend to succeed in a business transaction, but also will get served without queue, does not pay entrance fee for a performance, etc All those actions can be translated into calling them bribes, but where is the border, specially because he is elected to get and give benefits. On the other hand, the bureaucrat, who thinks that he is the only one who can decide what bribe and foul play is, who in his position decides on life and death situations, only because our laws are not adapted to humanity and social justice, manages with his accusations to hinder proper functioning of the government.
Who cares if the current prime minister got his house cheaper and who cares if he tried and did not succeed to sell the Leumi bank to his friend, and who cares if his former associate tried to get a loan for a factory he planned to erect in the
We live in a corrupted country, where only a few months ago most of the income tax management were arrested because of foul play, were the finance minister is accused of stealing money from the Holocaust victims, where only yesterday, 6 representatives of the finance ministry were arrested because they received bribes in East Jerusalem. The scandals they try to accuse the prime minister are minor and extremely doubtful, and a waste of the tax payers money, such as organizing hundred policemen, one morning attacked about ten to twenty offices in order to find evidence for the accusations on prime minister crimes (5 years later), instead of solving real crimes, or finding lost persons and making this place a little safer to live in.
Who will benefit if the prime minister is brought to court? His non existing clean fellow politicians or the Lindestraus and Selicha types?
Personally, I am certainly not an Olmert supporter, but prefer him thousand times more than the gallant opposition leader who personally was responsible for bringing prosperity to the local and Russian rich, but on the way, caused poverty and hopelessness for the less fortune Israeli middle and low classes.
Instead of daily television shows on the prime misters crimes, I would like to see real efforts in getting this country nearer to peace, by finally controlling those fanatics in the occupied territories, and providing logical and effective solutions to the not easy plight of the local Arab population. Incidentally, getting payment for lectures by ex and future politicians, like Barak and Netanyahu, smells of bribes and corruption, much more than getting a reduced price for a house in Merhaviah.
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