Sortition, Backroom Deals and Coalition Building: The Israeli Example

Every coalition government starts with a public vote and ends with partisan haggling in smoke-filled rooms. Once the votes are counted, party leaders trade ministries for support. Parties that hold the balance gain power far beyond their votes, and others the voters chose are shut out completely. The electorate decides who sits in parliament. A few negotiators decide who governs. That market is where corruption begins.

My article in the Journal of Sortition, "Votes, Tickets, and Cabinets," proposes a simple rule to end it. Once a coalition forms, its ministries are drawn by lot, weighted by each party's seats. The premiership and the confidence vote stay exactly as they are. Only one thing changes: a ministry drawn by lot cannot be promised, and what cannot be promised cannot be sold.

Chance is not wiser than politicians. It simply cannot be bought. The last party into a coalition could still demand policy, but openly, where voters can judge it. It could not demand Finance. That is the trade: fewer backroom deals, and more weight for every vote.

For an illustration using Israel's October 2026 election, see I Drew Israel a Government.