Pensioners' Political Parties in Israel

Abstract

Involvement and participation of older persons in politics and political systems reflect the extent to which they are integrated into their society. During the last two decades, political parties of pensioners have emerged in a number of countries, including Israel, and have run candidates in national elections. If only 10% of those aged 65 and older had voted for pensioners' parties in Israel, they would have qualified for two "pensioners" seats in the Knesset (Israel's parliament). However, they suffered complete defeat, as has been the case in most other countries. This article first describes the phenomenon of pensioners' political parties in Israel, examines the circumstances around their emergence, and presents their goals. Second, it identifies and analyzes the causes for their political defeat. Third, it discusses alternatives to political parties to promote the interests of the older population. Finally, implications for further research are raised.

The Emergence of Pensioners’ Parties in Contemporary Europe

“…In a variation on this pattern, older people who had previously been prominent in established parties and social organizations have sometimes acted as early supporters of newly formed grey parties as a means of continuing in public life after retiring from mainstream politics. This pattern can be detected in, for example, the role played in the creation Israeli pensioners' parties of 1980s by former trade union leaders (Iecovich 2002) or in the early momentum gained by the Scottish Senior Citizens Unity Party through the backing of retired local politicians once prominent in the Labour Party (Vincent 2003) Only in some newer democracies in Central and Eastern Europe where the civic infrastructure for older people -and civil and political society generally -is seriously under-developed does lack of resources seem to have been crucial obstacle impeding the development of grey interest parties. This seems, for example, to have been the case in Bulgaria where regular protest movements against the financial and social position of the large older and retired population since 2007 have yet to produce grey interest party capable of contesting national elections.…”

“…Although there were reports of an 'Autonomous Party of Pensioners' contesting Italian parliamentary elections as early as 1972 (Time, 22 March 1972, as table 1 shows, the first pensioners' party to emerge in a Western democracy for which firm evidence is available was founded in Israel in 1981 -the first in a series of generally peripheral 'grey' groupings to emerge in Israeli electoral politics before the unexpected electoral breakthrough of the GIL party in 2006 (Iecovich 2002;Derfner 2006;Susser 2007 As table 1 shows West European pensioners' parties have so far remained a largely peripheral phenomenon. Some have almost no electoral support at national level, although most have been able to gain 1-2 per cent of the vote in national elections on at least one occasion and many have some representation at sub-national level.…”

Old Voters on New Dimensions: Why Do Voters Vote for Pensioners’ Parties? The Case of the Netherlands

“…When the Israeli pensioners' party GIL (Pensioners of Israel to the Knesset) entered government in 2006 in a center-left coalition, it obtained the portfolios for pensioners and health care. Its manifesto was also singularly focused on pensioners' issues (Iecovich, 2001), even though it had a broader antiestablishment agenda when it emerged in the Tel Aviv city council. Other self-described pensioners' parties also have broader policy agendas.…”

“…Indeed, all of them support higher pensions. The HSU (2017), AOV (1994), U55+ (1994U55+ ( ), 50Plus (2012, DeSUS (2009), and GIL (Iecovich, 2001) also advocate for increased government spending on health care; HSU, AOV, 50Plus, and U55+ are specifically against out-of-pocket health care spending that is not covered by the government or health insurance. 50Plus, AOV, and U55+ demand attention to the specific needs of the elderly when it comes to housing or the labor market.…”

Проблемы Капитализации Интеллектуальных Активов Жителей Зрелого Возраста

“…Обобщая положение дел в России и опыт европейских стран (Норвегии, Швеции, Великобритании, Латвии и др.) (Глуханюк, Гершкович, 2003;Раменская, Раменский, Раменская, 2013;Allen, Klein, 2011;Barth, 2000;Dahl, Nilsen IV, Vaage, 2000;Erlinghagena, 2010;Grant, 2007;Guinn, 1999;Hockey, Phillips, Walford, 2013;Hofäcker, Unt, 2013;Hu, Wei, Schlais, Yeh, 2008;Iecovich, 2001;Kloseck, Crilly, Gutman, 2010;Kumashiro, 2000;Loretto, 2010;Naegele, Krämer, 2002  более половины лиц пенсионного возраста не менее 10 лет трудятся, будучи пенсионерами;…”