The possible breakup of the current coalition government could delay a series of appointments in various government bodies, some of which have already been launched though they haven't yet received final approval.
The new appointments
Yesterday, it was announced that Yehezkel Lifshitz has been appointed director of the Water Authority. The appointment is viewed as a professional one. Lifshitz, who served as deputy director of infrastructure at the Energy Ministry, is seen as a professional appointment.
Over the weekend, the appointment of Brigadier General (Res.) Eli Ben Meir as CEO of Amidar, the government housing authority, was also approved. This appointment is also considered professional.
In April, Defense Minister Benny Gantz agreed to authorize the appointment of Boaz Levy as CEO of Israel Aerospace Industries.
In contrast, a series of appointments that are already in the pipeline have stalled and may not materialize until elections are called.
This will happen if special instructions on the subject are distributed by Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara who will prevent appointments on the eve of the election.
Here's how it can hurt Israel's energy companies
The main problem is in the energy companies which are under the care of Energy Minister Karin Elharrar (Yesh Atid). For example, at the IEC, which hasn’t had a chair for several months, the elected chair resigned after only two months.
The appointment of Meir Spiegler to be CEO of the IEC hasn’t yet been formally approved. Yuval Albashan is supposed to take Spiegler’s place as CEO of the National Insurance Institute, but Spiegler is still the head of the National Insurance Institute (NII) since the Gilor Committee on Public Service Appointments hasn’t yet approved Albashan's appointment.
Albashan was recommended for the position by Labor, Social Affairs and Social Services Minister Meir Cohen (Yesh Atid) and approved by Foreign Minister Yair Lapid.
Another appointment stuck in the Energy Ministry is that of the chairman of the Electricity Authority, which hasn’t had a permanent director for more than a year. Other appointments on the agenda are the appointment of a permanent CEO to the port of Ashdod in place of Moshe Janna. Eli Bar-Yosef is currently the temporary CEO.