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CNN Sunday Morning
Preview of Israeli Elections
Aired January 26, 2003 - 07:35 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has made a get tough policy against Palestinian militants the centerpiece of his election campaign. His opponent from the Labor Party says he wants to negotiate to bring peace to the region, but there's more to Israeli politics than just those candidates.
CNN's senior political analyst Bill Schneider takes a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SR. POLITICAL ANALYST (voice-over): Israel has the most democratic system in the world; 4.7 million Israelis are eligible to vote on Tuesday, and they all face the same choice. The voter enters the polling booth and sees stacks of ballots for 28 political parties. The voter picks a ballot, printed with a party symbol, puts it in an envelope, and places the envelope in a ballot box. That's it. No punch cards, no chads.
(on camera): Israelis vote for the party that most perfectly represents their interests. Many Russian immigrants vote for the Russian Immigrant Party. A lot of young people may vote for the Pro Marijuana Party, if they're not too stoned to pick the right ballot. To win a seat in parliament, a party has to get just 1.5 percent of the vote. If a party gets say 10 percent of the votes, it will win 10 percent of the seats.
(voice-over): Israel's parliament, the Knesset, is a microcosm of the country. Its 120 members represent almost perfectly every ethnic and religious and ideological group in Israel. Very democratic, but not very efficient.
(on camera): Who exactly gets a Knesset seat? Each party has a list with the most senior party leaders at the top.
(voice-over): Ariel Sharon, the current prime minister, is number one on his party's lists. To become prime minister, you have to have the support of a majority in the Knesset. No party is expected to get anything close to a majority. So after the election, a leader of the largest party makes deals with other parties to get their support.
(on camera): An American politician once remarked that if the United States operated under Israel's system, the Democratic Party would be five parties, a party for African-Americans, a party for women, a party for Southern white men, a labor party and so forth. Imagine how complicated politics would be. Well, here in Israel, it is. Every group has a voice. That's very democratic and very noisy.
Bill Schneider, CNN, Tel Aviv.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired January 26, 2003 - 07:35 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has made a get tough policy against Palestinian militants the centerpiece of his election campaign. His opponent from the Labor Party says he wants to negotiate to bring peace to the region, but there's more to Israeli politics than just those candidates.
CNN's senior political analyst Bill Schneider takes a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SR. POLITICAL ANALYST (voice-over): Israel has the most democratic system in the world; 4.7 million Israelis are eligible to vote on Tuesday, and they all face the same choice. The voter enters the polling booth and sees stacks of ballots for 28 political parties. The voter picks a ballot, printed with a party symbol, puts it in an envelope, and places the envelope in a ballot box. That's it. No punch cards, no chads.
(on camera): Israelis vote for the party that most perfectly represents their interests. Many Russian immigrants vote for the Russian Immigrant Party. A lot of young people may vote for the Pro Marijuana Party, if they're not too stoned to pick the right ballot. To win a seat in parliament, a party has to get just 1.5 percent of the vote. If a party gets say 10 percent of the votes, it will win 10 percent of the seats.
(voice-over): Israel's parliament, the Knesset, is a microcosm of the country. Its 120 members represent almost perfectly every ethnic and religious and ideological group in Israel. Very democratic, but not very efficient.
(on camera): Who exactly gets a Knesset seat? Each party has a list with the most senior party leaders at the top.
(voice-over): Ariel Sharon, the current prime minister, is number one on his party's lists. To become prime minister, you have to have the support of a majority in the Knesset. No party is expected to get anything close to a majority. So after the election, a leader of the largest party makes deals with other parties to get their support.
(on camera): An American politician once remarked that if the United States operated under Israel's system, the Democratic Party would be five parties, a party for African-Americans, a party for women, a party for Southern white men, a labor party and so forth. Imagine how complicated politics would be. Well, here in Israel, it is. Every group has a voice. That's very democratic and very noisy.
Bill Schneider, CNN, Tel Aviv.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
