Livni & Mofaz
Tzipi Livni won the Kadima primary on Thursday as predicted, but she won it with a much smaller majority than expected, only 431 votes. Her opponent Shaul Mofaz decided not to contest the victory, and today shocked everyone when he announced his retirement from the Knesset and from politics. We are so used to being cynical that we expected him to turn his near miss into a cabinet post.
Livni is immediately trying to form a new coalition Govt., probably much the same as that of Olmert. So far it is uncertain whether or not Shas (with 12 seats) will join her, they have objected to her role as main negotiator with the Palestinians and her readiness to divide Jerusalem (and the fact that she is a woman). But, given the right price (enough Cabinet positions and funding for their schools) they will probably agree to support her. A similar argument goes for Ehud Barak of Labor, who fears that his party will break up should it not be in the Govt.
Bibi Netanyahu has attacked Livni as being a second rate version of Olmert and not qualified to lead the country and particularly without a mandate since she was not elected by the people but only by a small majority of the Kadima party (0.5%), which makes a mockery of democracy (although Netanyahu was glad to accept small majorities himself in the past). Think of it, a party with only 74,000 members, 12,000 of whom are non-Jews (Arabs, Druse, etc.) of whom only 53% voted, have now determined the future of the country. Is this democracy?
Some people have praised Mofaz for retiring from politics after more than 40 years in public life, including Chief of Staff of the IDF. But, some see it as an even more cynical move, to avoid being involved in a Kadima Govt. that is bound to be criticized and lose support and in the next election probably the Kadima party will be decimated. Then Mofaz can return from the ashes back to Likud and Bibi will be happy to have him.
Meanwhile, the feminist parties are celebrating over Livni's victory, although she has risen very rapidly on the basis of her political connections. She was a protege of PM Sharon, who still clings to life, and so she has legitimacy thru his name. She epitomizes the Kadima party in being prepared to relinquish land to the "moderate" PA and this is what has caused great loss of morale inside Israel, where most people see this as a losing policy. Her greatest asset is that she is not tarred by the corruption that has characterized Olmert's hold on power. However, she opposed the Second Lebanon War, that however poorly it was fought by the IDF and however incompetent the military leaders were, was forced on us by the cross-border Hizbullah raid that killed 8 soldiers and captured 2. The fact that the IDF more or less knew from the beginning that they were likely dead only compounds the failures of the Olmert legacy. The question is can Livni redeem herself or are we in for more of the same.
Livni is immediately trying to form a new coalition Govt., probably much the same as that of Olmert. So far it is uncertain whether or not Shas (with 12 seats) will join her, they have objected to her role as main negotiator with the Palestinians and her readiness to divide Jerusalem (and the fact that she is a woman). But, given the right price (enough Cabinet positions and funding for their schools) they will probably agree to support her. A similar argument goes for Ehud Barak of Labor, who fears that his party will break up should it not be in the Govt.
Bibi Netanyahu has attacked Livni as being a second rate version of Olmert and not qualified to lead the country and particularly without a mandate since she was not elected by the people but only by a small majority of the Kadima party (0.5%), which makes a mockery of democracy (although Netanyahu was glad to accept small majorities himself in the past). Think of it, a party with only 74,000 members, 12,000 of whom are non-Jews (Arabs, Druse, etc.) of whom only 53% voted, have now determined the future of the country. Is this democracy?
Some people have praised Mofaz for retiring from politics after more than 40 years in public life, including Chief of Staff of the IDF. But, some see it as an even more cynical move, to avoid being involved in a Kadima Govt. that is bound to be criticized and lose support and in the next election probably the Kadima party will be decimated. Then Mofaz can return from the ashes back to Likud and Bibi will be happy to have him.
Meanwhile, the feminist parties are celebrating over Livni's victory, although she has risen very rapidly on the basis of her political connections. She was a protege of PM Sharon, who still clings to life, and so she has legitimacy thru his name. She epitomizes the Kadima party in being prepared to relinquish land to the "moderate" PA and this is what has caused great loss of morale inside Israel, where most people see this as a losing policy. Her greatest asset is that she is not tarred by the corruption that has characterized Olmert's hold on power. However, she opposed the Second Lebanon War, that however poorly it was fought by the IDF and however incompetent the military leaders were, was forced on us by the cross-border Hizbullah raid that killed 8 soldiers and captured 2. The fact that the IDF more or less knew from the beginning that they were likely dead only compounds the failures of the Olmert legacy. The question is can Livni redeem herself or are we in for more of the same.
posted by Jack Cohen at 10:48 AM
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