No Confidence
By
Leonard Zwelling
One of the beauty parts of a parliamentary system of government is the “no confidence” vote. This occurs when a majority of the members of parliament expresses a lack of faith in the current government and that government dissolves and new elections are held.
For some of us here in the States who closely follow Israeli politics, we are hoping for such a vote in Israel if 61 of the 120 members of the Knesset vote to dissolve the Netanyahu coalition (it has 64 votes now) and call for new elections. There is little doubt that the current group led by Netanyahu of ultranationalist and ultrareligious right-wingers is doing inestimable damage to Israeli society simply to keep Netanyahu out of jail. For goodness sakes, cut a deal with Likud that if Bibi steps down and calls for new elections, he can remain a free man. But, no! Bibi won’t take the deal and I’m not sure Labor will either.
But before we Americans cast stones at Israeli intransigence, let us remember that the great majority of American voters do not want a rematch of the 2020 Presidential election in 2024, yet we seem to be hurtling toward that exact outcome. Mr. Biden will not step aside despite his age and his unpopularity and Mr. Trump will never consider not running even if from a jail cell. Despite the desire for other leaders, the parties seem incapable of finding people of the caliber and attractiveness sufficient to displace either Biden or Trump. Unbelievable!
The Democrats have no candidates to challenge the Biden-Harris ticket which is a definite loser unless it runs against Trump and who knows? Marjorie Taylor Greene? The Republicans have many candidates vying for the throne, but none has engendered any significant support except for Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and the more the media gets close to him, the less attractive he seems to get. Let’s face it. He’s a cynical sour puss who is just nasty.
As many Israelis want to return to a normal government that is not controlled solely by the ultraorthodox and the Mizrahi, many Americans want a functioning two-party system where coalitions can be built across the aisle and compromise can become common. Most Americans also want a President who is not near or over 80 and who is neither infirm nor ethically compromised.
This leadership quandary seems to be all around us. I personally no longer care about Mark Zuckerberg, Elon Musk, and their potential cage fight. I find them self-indulgent infants with more money than brains. They take no responsibility for the garbage spewed on their platforms and it seems more and more likely that the conservative federal judiciary will not hold them accountable. And please don’t wait for the do-nothing Congress to correct or even patrol the internet. Anyone can say anything and the tech platforms are not responsible.
As usual, this takes us to my former place of employment where no one can figure out what Dr. Pisters has in store for the institution beyond more accolades from business magazines. But here there is a place for resolution. As Pisters continues his war on senior faculty and those who speak up against his nonsensical agenda of professionalism, diversity, and autocracy, the Faculty Senate can act.
The Faculty Senate can call for a vote of no confidence on the basis of a lack of leadership, vision, strategy and the imposition of arbitrary retaliation against senior faculty.
Faculty of MD Anderson, he’s coming for you unless you are a junior, non-tenured clinician generating money for his bottom line. Pisters will overrule the Promotion and Tenure Committee’s decisions with impunity. He will continue to appoint mediocre people to positions of authority so that only he can make decisions. He will leave major leadership positions in the departments and divisions vacant for years because he won’t spend the money to recruit the all-stars that used to walk the halls of MD Anderson—both coming from outside and being developed from within.
It’s up to the faculty. If Pisters and his crew is what they want, they got them. If not, say something. No confidence!
Dr. Zwelling’s new novel, Conflict of Interest: Money Drives Medicine and People Die is available at:
barnesandnoble.com,
on amazon if you search using the title and subtitle,
and
directly from the publisher Dorrance at: https://bookstore.dorrancepublishing.com/conflict-of-interest-money-drives-medicine-and-people-die-pb/m
