Position taking is an important legislative area, which was investigated intensively by scholars. Since one of the main opposition role is to present an alternative to the government the question is what the manner of the opposition''s position taking is?.
In order to address the question we analyze the use of one minute speeches (OMS) by opposition members at the Israeli parliament.
First we will analyze the procedures enable opposition members to take position, in this manner we can contribute to the overall workshop theme. Then we will analyze the content and the quantity of opposition'' OMS.
The research uses mix research methods; starting with the statistical analysis and continuing with content analysis of the speeches and of the interviews conducted with opposition'' leaders and opposition''s members.
We chose to investigate position taking by OMS even though it is used only in five legislatures (Israel, Canada, Australia, US and the EU). Furthermore, Israel is an exception compared to the other four legislatures; all four are federations, their electoral system is based on constituencies, they are spread out over a wide geographical expanse and looking at the electoral system of the five legislatures, we can see that two have strong legislatures (the US Congress and the European Parliament) and two are ex-Westminster systems (Canada and Australia). Israel, with its system of proportional representation, is the exception.
Hence, it is interesting to investigated Israel opposition as a case study using OMS which considered an easy tool to use, one that offers short-term benefits, such as allowing a legislator to take a position on a topic of special interest to him or her, and long-term benefits, such as demonstrating ongoing participation in legislative procedures.
