Israel Matzav

Silvan to the rescue

I started reading this article thinking that he was going to defend Silvan Shalom and support Shalom's bid to oust Bibi Netanyahu as the head of the Likud. I was wrong. This is a scathing indictment of Shalom - and a well deserved one. Shalom belongs very high up on the lengthy list of Israeli politicians who totally lack substance. Silvan Shalom is about Silvan Shalom - and nothing else.

NOW, AS all this confluences into the worst crisis in Likud's history, its members must demand of Shalom to reconcile his current worship of the same disengagement that back in '04 he so pompously opposed.

They must demand of him to explain why as a cabinet member he backed the same Netanyahu reforms he now attacks, and why as treasurer he was so lethargic on reform, and led the economy to its worst years. They must remind him that Likud's party center, in which he thrived, was much more anathema to the public than Netanyahu's social skills. [By 'party center' he means the "Central Committee" which through this election selected candidates for MK. Netanyahu got rid of it. CiJ] They must also remind him that his disloyalty to Sharon was must worse than Netanyahu's, because Bibi did not owe Sharon anything, certainly not his rise to political prominence.

Most importantly, Likudniks must understand that what Shalom offers them is an ideological non-starter, because the populist ticket has already been taken by the ascetic and humble Eli Yishai and Amir Peretz, who will always be more convincing than the glaringly nouveau-riche Shalom, who lives in a castle with his well-born wife, a shareholder in Israel's leading media powerhouse [Judy Nir-Moses. CiJ].

The same goes for the diplomatic moderation Shalom has now come to espouse; it will always sound better coming from Olmert, Mofaz and Dichter. How will Shalom's Likud be distinguished from what's already out there? Is the fact that he, Shalom, made a grand miscalculation in not joining Kadima, reason enough for the entire Likud party to be swallowed by Kadima?

Likud's only future is in refashioning itself as Israel's conservative party, a movement that will believe in small government, low taxation, economic freedom, national strength, family values and Jewish heritage. This - if properly packaged, led and timed - can capture a critical mass of Israelis. Shalom can't.

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 11:39 PM