Politics has entered the pilot season: the cast is ready, but where is the script? | Adv. Ilana Shoshan

Once upon a time, between January and April, Los Angeles would enter a frenzy known as "pilot season." Television networks and studios prepared for the next season, dozens of pilots for new series were produced, and everyone was busy with casting. Thousands of actors would temporarily move to the city in hopes of landing the role that would change their lives. But amidst the casting madness, one thing already existed: a script.

In recent weeks, it seems that Israeli politics has also entered "pilot season," only here it is a bit different. Party leaders are casting their lists, but unlike in Hollywood, it is not always clear for which script the participants are being cast. What is clear is that the commitment is to put personal opinions in a drawer. The candidate's opinion may have brought them to the audition. The condition for getting the role is to give it up.

We recently witnessed this in two interviews with two impressive figures who joined Yisrael Beiteinu. Lt. Col. (res.) Meidan Bar asked during a prime-time interview to stop filming so he could call and receive instructions on what he was allowed to say. And Lili Ben-Ami, another of Avigdor Lieberman's castings, a respected woman who has clear opinions on many issues, was asked what her opinion was regarding sitting with Mansour Abbas, and she replied that one should ask Avigdor Lieberman about that. And I want to ask her specifically: what do you think? What is your position on the matter? After all, you might have to vote on it.

And where is the script? They used to call it a platform. Party members would gather, argue, formulate positions, and set priorities. I myself participated in preparing such a platform. Before you asked the public to vote for you, you said what you believed in and what you intended to do. Today, they sell us a poster with names.

Once again, the fundamental problem with our electoral system arises: when a party leader chooses the members of the list, he not only gives them the entry ticket to the Knesset, he also holds the ticket for the continuation of their political career – and they know it. Therefore, perhaps it is time to return to talking seriously about changing the electoral system. A combination of regional elections in the system will allow us to send to the Knesset representatives whom we choose directly. People who will have to present positions, answer to voters, and return to them in the next elections to ask for their trust again.

This also changes the focus of loyalty. A Knesset member who knows that his future path depends on the voters in his region, and not on the party leader, must also listen to them. Suddenly, there is real meaning to the question of what he himself thinks, and not just what politically serves the party leader.

Elections are not a soap opera. They affect our lives in every sense. Even the biggest star cannot save a series that has no story. Before we commit to paying salaries for four years, we should insist on getting the script – and also get the opportunity to choose the cast.