Hamas War

Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Lots of Partying on Israel's Left

This election carnival time here in Israel is lots more fun than in the dodgy USA where there are only two parties competing (or having a chance) and winner takes all.  In Israel, the loser doesn't really lose, because being head of the opposition is a real position.  And when there are a few parties in the opposition all of those party leaders demand their daily "15 minutes" or more.  Sometimes they get so much time to criticize the government on the media that we don't even hear from the government officials.

Now, that was really rude of Tsippi Livni (not that we'd expect anything else from her) to make her grand announcement immediately post Likud Primaries.  Yes, Tsippi is starting a new Opportunist Breakaway Party which she's calling "The Movement," a name which is giving the anglos here good laughs.  It sounds more like she's clerking in a colonoscopy clinic than being a serious politician.
Less than seven months after quitting politics, former foreign minister and opposition leader set to launch comeback.

Tzipi Livni
Photo: Ben Hartman

Former foreign minister Tzipi Livni released the name and campaign logo for the political party she was expected to launch at noon Tuesday. The name of the party as printed on a release of campaign materials is "The Movement."
My guess is that she was trying to deflate the Likud's post-primary excitement, but those who are happy about the Likud results are even happier that Livni is long gone from the party of her father, the late Eitan Livni, who was also an Etzel fighter.

Other party leaders on Israel's Left, Shelly Yachimovich-Labor and Yair Lapid-Yesh Atid, have admitted trying to negotiate with her to join their parties and work with them, but she refused all offers.  Livni still has delusions that she can be Prime Minister.  Think about it; even after Kadima's greatest victory, when it got more votes than Likud, she couldn't convince other politicians to work with her.  Now she's irrelevant, but what do I care... let her run and keep on running... the movement?

2 comments:

goyisherebbe said...

Bad move for the Movement. The trick in Israeli politics is to settle scores relatively by relatively. peacefully. Though Jewish, Zippy as Foreign Minister was influenced by her associates to listen too carefully to what the other team is saying. That's the diplomatic disease. Now that she is out, nobody knows.

Batya said...

Lapid seriously put his foot in it because he had originally promised not to use "politicians" and here he admitted to courting Tsipi. He's losing popularity before even being elected.