No new elections likely in Israel
For those of you wonder why we Israelis aren't taking to the streets demanding new elections, tonight you have an answer. It's real simple: We don't control whether new elections will take place. The Knesset does. And it is determined to keep itself in power.Israel Radio reported that most factions, including those in the opposition, would prefer a replacement government within the current Knesset.The coalition still has 64 members. In fact, with the three breakaways from the Pensioners' party supporting it, there are 67 members who won't vote to throw the bums out. And no one in the opposition is going to table a bill to dissolve the Knesset unless they know it is going to pass - because if it doesn't it cannot be raised again for six months. So don't hold your breaths waiting for new elections in Israel. It's not going to happen right now.
Meretz called on Olmert to suspend himself and said that it would act in the summer Knesset session for the formation of a replacement coalition.
Shas and the GIL Pensioners Party - including the three GIL members who formed a new faction with Arkadi Gaydamak's Social Justice Party - said they would not back early elections.
...
Labor's Young Guard demanded that Labor chairman and Defense Minister Ehud Barak promptly resign from the coalition. Representatives of the group warned that "if Labor does not withdraw from the coalition immediately, they will lose the public's trust in future elections."
However, Barak associates said the party would maintain a steady relationship with Olmert and that Labor would remain in the government until things become clearer, Army Radio reported.
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 10:14 PM
2 Comments:
Neither Kadima nor Labor wants elections now while the scandal tarred Ehud Olmert is still fresh in the public memory. They are as much losers as him and while they could care less about his efforts to save his own rear end, they are not about to go down for Olmert's sake if they can help it. And they won't.
NormanF,
It's more than that.
Barak actually wants Olmert to go down and to have Livni take over for long enough to show that she's incompetent. He is that confident that she will crash and burn (and please forgive but I don't recall where I saw that).
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