It's almost official: New elections in Israel
Kadima leader Tzipora Livni has informed Prime Minister Shimon Peres that she is unable to form a coalition government. And while Peres has the right within the next three days to designate someone else to form the government, it seems likely that Israel is heading to new elections.Livni delayed the announcement in the hope of finding a coalition at the last minute, but just a few moments ago, she admitted at a press conference that she has failed to do so. Let's start with this videotape that explains why.
President Shimon Peres praised Livni for 'sticking to her principles.' I didn't know she had any. Here's more on this story from JPost.
Earlier, Livni had said that she decided to end her bid to form a coalition because she felt she had to "draw the line" in the concessions she was willing to other parties.The cloud in this silver lining - as noted in the video above - is that the crooked Ehud K. Olmert will remain Prime Minister until the new elections are held. And while Israel's Supreme Court has placed limitations on the actions that can be taken by a 'transition government' like Olmert's, there can be no assurance that the Court will not reverse itself if it is politically expedient to do so.
"After the primaries I said that I believed in stability and was committed to seeing through the process of forming a government. Recent days have seen coalition demands become impossible, and there was a need to draw the line. To say 'no more,'" Livni said during the weekly cabinet meeting.
"I was prepared to pass budgets I believe in for needy families and social [causes]. But when it became clear that every person and every party was taking advantage of the situation to make illegitimate demands - both economic and diplomatic - I decided to put a stop to it and go to elections.
"That is the essence of Kadima. On this basis we formed Kadima and on this basis we will continue to act in unison and win. A united Kadima that proves that it acts according to what's right will win the next elections," Livni said.
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The move came after Shas and Degel Hatorah, which constitutes half of the United Torah Judaism faction in the Knesset, announced over the weekend that they would not join a Livni-led government.
"I'm sick of this extortion," Livni was quoted as telling her advisers. "We'll see all these heroes in 90 days."
Shas announced on Friday that it had rejected Livni's offer to join her coalition, because its Council of Torah Sages advised against it.
"The Council of Torah Sages decided this morning, after a telephone survey and in accordance with the directives of Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, that Shas will not join the government," Shas chairman Eli Yishai told reporters outside his Jerusalem home. "The decision is final."
Prior to the press conference, Shas had released a statement in which it said: "Throughout the negotiations, Shas hasn't asked for political upgrades or fancy titles. It has asked for only two things: a profound assistance to the weak socioeconomic classes living in Israel and the protection of Jerusalem," the statement read.
"Our negotiators proposed solutions for these two issues, but their opinion was not accepted," the statement continued.
By the time Israel has a new government, 'moderate' 'Palestinian' President
Interesting times are ahead. But despite the time it will take for this to happen, in the long run we will be better off without a Livni-led leftist coalition.
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 6:13 PM
2 Comments:
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Tzipi Livni's biggest problem is that she can't get things done. And she's an empty suit with plenty of enemies inside Kadima. Its going to be an interesting couple of months til the election next year in Israel.
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