If the no-confidence motion, had, in fact, barely passed, Mr. Barak would be out of a job. And it would be nonsensical for a sitting prime minister to try to pass a no-confidence motion.
Motions pass, politicians survive.
While the Times agitates for new, stricter laws, the politicians and the Justice Department barely obey or enforce the laws that already exist. So there's little reason to believe that new laws would make much of a difference. The bigger these loopholes in the Nixon-era campaign finance laws become, the better, because the more money is spent on campaigns, the more vigorous the political debate, and the better for the democracy. As the losing presidential campaigns of Ross Perot and Steve Forbes have shown, money is no guarantee of victory in American politics.