Are We Headed Back to Direct Elections?

I don't like the current electoral system, and I believe it should be changed. However, I do not like the idea of changing it, like any law, just to help or hurt a specific person. It should be changed in order to provide a more stable and efficient system of governance, not to promote a specific candidate, help his chances, or hurt a candidate's chances.
That si why I do not like the new proposal by MK Amir Peretz (Hatnua).
Peretz is worried that in the current electoral system, Naftali Bennet has a reasonable chance to become Prime Minister of Israel. In some constellation, his party could become the largest party, and then he would be appointed to hobble together a coalition. In a direct electoral system, where the people have to vote for the specific prime ministerial candidate, Bennet does not have a chance, according to Amir Peretz. The assumption being that the 20% support he has is his limit, or close to it, and that's not nearly enough to win enough votes to become prime minister.
So, Peretz is working to change the electoral system back to the one in which elections for prime minister are direct elections.
source: Srugim
To remind you, this was done before and deemed a total failure. It accomplished the exact opposite of what its goals were. It was mean to be the first stage of an overall change to full direct elections and thereby create more stable government, with the small parties being knocked out entirely and more power given to the large parties. The direct elections effected in reality a situation in which people could vote for their preferred candidate, and still support their preferred party, and they gave even more power to the small parties. When the large parties suffered from the change, they quickly reversed the decision and went back to the old system. What I think they should have done is go immediately to stage  and complete the electoral reform, but they didn't.
So, Amir Peretz, because he wants to hurt the chances of one potential candidate, wants to change the entire electoral system to one that everybody already admitted was an even worse system.
It is also interesting that he thinks Bennet's chances of becoming prime minister are good enough that this must be done.

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