Binyamin Netanyahu has bought loyalty with meaningless titles
But don’t tell the new minister of community empowerment and advancement
IT TAKES ABOUT a dozen ministries to run Sweden, a country of 10m people. Austria, with a population of 9m, has a similar number. Israel is about the same size, but apparently it needs a bigger government. The one sworn in on May 17th features at least 34 ministries, and as many ministers (over a quarter of all lawmakers), many of whom seem to share the same tasks or have little power.
This article appeared in the Middle East & Africa section of the print edition under the headline “Empty empires”
Middle East & Africa
June 6th 2020- Covid-19 quietly sweeps across Yemen
- Binyamin Netanyahu has bought loyalty with meaningless titles
- Algeria’s protest movement considers how and when to come back
- In the dry season, Nigeria’s army puts Boko Haram on the back foot
- How Ugandan feminists make themselves heard
- African governments face a wall of debt repayments
From the June 6th 2020 edition
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Israel’s army adopts a high-stakes new strategy: more terrain
It remains present inside Syria, Lebanon, Gaza and the West Bank
The sea is swallowing an African island
In Sierra Leone, adjusting to a warmer climate is getting harder
In a dictator’s palace, Syrians debate a new constitution
Ahmed al-Sharaa will soon have to reveal how sincere he is about the new, inclusive Syria
Could political upheaval hit Jordan next?
Resurgent Islamists and chaos in the West Bank may threaten Jordan’s king
Israel and Hamas have something in common
They both want to avoid a ceasefire collapse, for a few more weeks
How to make cash in Africa’s coup belt
Mining multinationals are learning to do business with juntas