Staying at the top is lots harder than the trip up. That's what Tsippi Livni, Peter's Principle's Poster Girl, is discovering.
The trip up was relatively easy, but it's sure windy up there.
Kadima, the party which tries to suit everyone, eshewing red lines, is now discovering that they've crossed others'. And since their support is dropping in the polls, the other parties are looking for a better alliance.
The final straw is Jerusalem. Both Tsippi and Tzachi Hanegbi, who seems to have a very important role in the negotiations, refuse to elaborate on any "red lines," caliming that it's all subject to negotiation. Most political parties know that they'll lose support if they join such a coalition.
Jerusalem's municipal elections are coming up, and it will be very interesting to see which national politicians align themselves with which mayoral candidates. It's clear that the Chareidi parties wouldn't join Tsippi, because that would lose votes for Porush, even though chareidi voters generally vote according to their rabbis' instructions.
The big question will be if Peres will give Bibi a chance to try to form a government, or will he declare elections. If Bibi has a chance sans new elections, then there's a chance that some of the Kadima MK's will join Likud. I think that Bibi should tell them to "get lost," but as he told us at the Jewish Bloggers Convention, he thinks they will add strength to the Likud. I think that Bibi's Likud would get more votes if they rejected the opportunists. That's especially since there isn't a firm Right wing, patriotic party to compete. He'd get more support if he'd stop his wishy-washy centrist !$%$!!#. (Sorry for the foul language, but I just can't think of a nice word for it.)
And don't forget that ol' Olmert is still Prime Minister, at least until a new government is formed, and that will probably be after new elections. So we're stuck with Wily Ehud for the months to come.
4 comments:
you know, i had the exact opposite reaction to tzipi. she could have paid off the parties she needed to, have garnered the necessary 61, and become pm. lord knows, there are any number of other politicians who would have done that, and have. she chose to take the high road, even though it will cost her the premiership, and a good deal of power in the knesset (she has got to know that kadima will be lucky to get 1/3 the seats they currently hold, should a new election be held). hows that for a red line?
you might want to do some introspection, some honest self-evaluation, and see if your opinion here is generated by pre-conceived notions, and feelings, about tzipi and kadima.
You've brought up an interesting point.
She (and her crew) may be pragmatic enough to know that conflicting demands will escalate to an impossible price and situation. Many people did expect her to offer the moon, stars, etc. She wouldn't be able to govern such a bunch of parasites. She's no Ehud Olmert. Thank G-d
BUT IS ALL THIS GOOD FOR THE JEWS? Batya, & whomever else is reading this, I still await your comments to my post below yours [yes, I "scooped" you last night!].
As to Peres, he could also pull a fast one & ask Mofaz to try to form a coalition, as reported here:
http://www.theyeshivaworld.com/news/Israel+News/24909/Is+Mofaz+Set+to+Make+His+Return?.html
And apparently Tzipi was prepared to "offer the moon" but the breaking point was either the Yerushalayim issue [she wouldn't commit to not negotiating], or that the charedi parties did not wish to join a gov't headed by a female, or both.
In any case, the fact that tricky Ollie is still in power is frightening to say the least. Who knows what he'll sign away in the next 4 months!
yitz, I'm glad you go to bed later than I do Motzei Shabbat. I was so happy to see your post in the morning.
Yes, the amoral Olmert and his buddies, Peres and Mofaz may have more tricks up their sleeves.
Tsippi's whining about Shas trying to bankrupt the country is being repeated ad nauseum on TV.
Of course, I haven't seen Bibi, who's persona non grata. He should have his own tv station via the internet.
Back to your question:
good for the Jews, I'd say yes, since it's a step, a small step, a twisted one probably, but a step. And let's hope the "step in something, like quicksand."
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