How much will it cost?
You all knew it was just a question of price, didn't you?After promising for months that his Shas party would not join a coalition led by 'Tzipora' Livni, that it would not remain in a coalition that would negotiate over the division of Jerusalem and that it would not join any coalition that did not agree to restore National Insurance Institute child allowances to their levels before Binyamin Netanyahu slashed them (as finance minister under Ariel Sharon), Eli Yishai is about to break all of his promises. It's just a question of the price.
Despite repeated threats to the contrary, Shas chairman Eli Yishai hinted Thursday that the party would remain in a Tzipi Livni-led coalition even if child welfare allowances aren't given, provided that the Treasury agrees to some sort of assistance for the weaker segments of society.Well all Shas has to do to see that the future of Jerusalem is already being discussed with the 'Palestinian Authority' is to take its collective head out of the sand. But I suppose that might wake their voters up to the fact that they have totally abandoned the principles they claimed to have.... So the people of Israel will once again pay the price to keep Shas in the government.
The Shas chairman is scheduled to meet Livni on Thursday evening.
"She must provide answers to poverty. We won't give up on our ideals, whether you call them [child] allowances, assistance, subsidies or grants to families with children. The name doesn't interest me," Yishai told Army Radio.
...
Yishai called Livni Thursday morning to congratulate her, saying that "the most important thing to do is to act, not to talk."
Shas spokesman Roi Lachmanovitch said the party would not join a Livni-led government if the future of Jerusalem is discussed with the Palestinian Authority.
But hey, this is Israel. Why should Shas be the friers (suckers) who have principles if no one else has them? Labor appears likely to stay in the coalition, preferring to prevent the strengthening of Likud, Army Radio reported. Nevertheless, Agriculture Minister Shalom Simhon, the cabinet minister closest to Labor chairman Ehud Barak, called for elections.Yeah we can't let Big Bad Bibi be Prime Minister now, can we? After all, in a new Knesset, all those Kadima and Labor MK's might lose their jobs.
"Let's go to elections and let the people choose their prime minister," he said. "It cannot be that so few people will decide who the prime minister of Israel will be. I welcome Livni's victory but Labor will prefer elections," said Simhon overnight Wednesday, following Livni's win.
Barak belatedly called Livni on Thursday afternoon to congratulate her on her victory.
But does anyone think it would be different under Bibi? If you do, you weren't at the JBloggers conference and you didn't hear how he squirmed when someone asked him about proportional representation versus direct elections for the Knesset. In a word, Bibi (Netanyahu) has no intention of fixing what's wrong with the current system of electing Knesset members. So the Israeli public will continue to be the only friers in the country.
For the record, Livni won Wednesday's Kadima primary by 431 votes, winning 43.1 percent (16,936 votes) while Transportation Minister Shaul Mofaz won 42% (16,535 votes). There will be no run-off. The exit polls were wrong, but not by enough this time.
Have 16,936 people sealed the fate of Israel?
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 6:05 PM
3 Comments:
There should be a run off between the top two candidates. So Livni becomes Prime Minister with over half Kadima's membership opposed to her. That may be a victory of sorts, Carl but its not a mandate to lead her party, let alone the country.
Norman, Israel is not a democracy - mandates be damned.
What mandate did Sharon have to lead when he created a brand new party whom people did not even vote for?
None.
What mandate did Olmert have to lead. Which Israeli citizens voted for him?
None.
All of that is true. Israel is governed by a small elite that is immune from any form of public accountability and that lives high and engages in worst forms of rentier seeking and corruption. Israelis don't have any high expectations from the new incoming Kadima government. It will have the same faces and policies as the old one - and yes, they will not have had a say in whether Livni should be Prime Minister. They will get her whether they want her or not. Whatta a way to run a country!
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