Acting Knesset Speaker Michael Eitan expressed absolute disapproval over hearing outgoing speaker; Kadima MK (Kadima) Dalia Itzik has already secured her office. It appears Avi Balshinikov, the Knesset general-manager, has already secured her office as an MK, which is larger than the others. According to Balshinikov, there are about 10 empty offices in the old wing of the Knesset and he ordered two connected for Itzik.

Eitan has nixed the deal, explaining the Knesset committee responsible for assigning offices for MKs will be meeting on Wednesday and it will make the decision, rejecting any attempt by Itzik to make her own arrangements and thereby bypassing the system.

In another office-related matter, the request for a larger office for outgoing Prime Minister Ehud Olmert was removed from the Knesset Finance Committee’s agenda on Tuesday by the committee chair, MK Avishai Braverman. Committee member (Likud) MK Ruby Rivlin reports that the finance committee must first process the request to increase a former prime minister’s office from 140 sq. meters to 170.

Labor MK Shelly Yacimovitz in her response questioned the need for enlarging the office of a former prime minister. Olmert aides in their original request explained the addition of 30 sq. meters is to accommodate security arrangements.

(Yechiel Spira – YWN Israel)