Limit the Number of Ministers and Deputies
In light of the Movement Towards a National Emergency Government: 30 Ministers Would be Excessive in Comparison to other Parliamentary Democracies; The cap on the number of ministers and their deputy minister should remain in place.
Knesset | Flash 90
The Israel Democracy Institute sent a professional opinion to the Likud and Resilience to Israel parties on Wednesday, demanding they keep in place the existing limit on the number of ministers and deputy ministers in the cabinet, as stipulated in the Basic Law: the Government (Article 5f).
In the opinion, the researchers note that "a multitude of ministers will impair the efficiency of the discussions and decision-making processes in the government; could lead to the establishment of ministries of questionable importance."
Dr. Assaf Shapira, Dr. Ofer Kenig, and Prof. Gideon Rahat, who compiled the professional opinion, note that the number of ministers emerging in the new government is unusually large and excessive, and is expected to be twice the size of other parliamentary democracies with populations of similar size as Israel. Examples include: Finland (19 ministers), the Netherlands (16 Ministers), Ireland, Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Austria (15 ministers). In addition to the cabinet ministers, the number of Israeli government ministries is significantly higher than in other countries. If a coalition of 73 members of Knesset were to be formed and the cabinet would include 30 ministers, it would be that for every 2.43 MKs from the coalition a minister will be appointed.
"The government should decrease the number of ministers and deputy ministers, not increase the size of the cabinet. Doing so would be of great benefit for the country and advantageous in terms of governance, efficiency, improving the Knesset’s functioning and would bolster public confidence in the political system.
Reducing the number of ministers would also lead to a significant amount of saving of public funds. With the expected economic downturn in the wake of the corona crisis, this is of particular importance."
Such a reduction in the number of minister is estimated to lead to a total annual savings of about NIS 60 million just from the operating costs of the ministries' offices. (This was carried out on the basis of an average annual cost of a minister's office of NIS 5.5 million in the calculation year, including 30 ministers - 4 deputy ministers).
IDI's researchers further note that "an excessive number of ministers will further impede the efficiency of the deliberations and decision-making processes in the government; could lead to the establishment of additional ministries that are of questionable importance, and is expected to further hinder the Knesset’s functioning in light of the fact that there will be too few MKs with time to perform their parliamentary duties."
A comparison of 10 democracies of similar size
| Population (millions) | # of Ministers | Percentage of ministers out of total members of parliament | # of government offices (April 2019) | |
| Sweden | 10.2 | 23 | 6.60% | 12 |
| Israel | 9.1 | 23 | 19.20% | 29 |
| Norway | 5.5 | 20 | 11.80% | 15 |
| Denmark | 5.9 | 20 | 11.20% | 18 |
| Portugal | 10.3 | 20 | 8.70% | 16 |
| Finland | 5.6 | 19 | 9.50% | 12 |
| Netherlands | 17.3 | 16 | 10.70% | 11 |
| Ireland | 5.2 | 15 | 9.40% | 16 |
| Slovakia | 5.4 | 16 | 10.70% | 13 |
| Czech Republic | 10.7 | 15 | 7.50% | 14 |
| Austria | 8.9 | 15 | 8.20% | 11 |
The ratio between the number of members of the coalition and the number the members of government in 26 democracies between 2004 – 2007
The ratio between the number of members of the coalition and the number the members of government in 26 democracies between 2004 – 2007
Number of Ministers in Israeli Governments, 1949 – 2015 *
• The graph shows the number of ministers (including the prime minister) in governments formed following elections, from the day the government was sworn in – to a week later.