Hamas War

Monday, March 11, 2013

Lots of PM Wannabes in Bibi's New Government

If we can believe the media on this, Israel's sitting Likud Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has beat the clock and managed to negotiate coalition deals with enough political party leaders to form a government

In a rare case of disagreement with Dry Bones, I don't quite see this motley crew as not trusting Netanyahu. I see two different things:
  • The party leaders who have signed with, or have promised to sign with Bibi all want to replace him as Prime Minister.
  • It's not that they don't trust Bibi, he doesn't really trust them.
Dry Bones
This is going to be a make it or break it experience for political rookie Yair Lapid.  The high school drop-out will be following quite a few academic heavy-weights as Finance Minister.  Among his predecessors are Netanyahu,  masters degree in Business Administration from M.I.T, and Yuval Steinitz, who holds a doctorate in Philosophy from Tel Aviv University.  I wonder who's going to be running Lapid's crash course in economics.

Tsippi Livni, Yair Lapid, Naftali Bennett and Shaul Mofaz are the party leaders who've signed up (according to media leaks) with Bibi along with Avigdor Lieberman.  They all consider themselves national leaders  and potential Prime Ministers.

Mofaz and Livni have been rapidly losing support, while Lapid and Bennett have captured the imagination of the public.  No doubt that Netanyahu will have a very challenging time trying to keep them all in line and functioning as a government.

Good luck Israel!

5 comments:

goyisherebbe said...

Batya, I think you've hit the nail on the head. Another problem is that the religious public is making the transition from the minor league sectoral interest protection to the major league of serious national leadership. Feiglin made that claim in the Likud and the Bayit Yehudi under Bennett picked it up. The problem is that it leaves the hareidim suddenly high and dry. They are about to be dragged kicking and screaming into the new era when many of their own people can't say it but want it just the same. People are tired of generations of enforced artificial poverty and it won't stick anymore. For a lot of kids it's Nahal Hareidi or off the derech and their political leadership doesn't get it. They are cursing Bennett who is in reality the true advocate of those hareidim who have no voice, including, of course, the women, who want their men to make a living so they can spend some time at home with their kids. But they certainly can't say that.

Batya said...

goyish, I wonder how long the chareidim can continue their lifestyle with the financial burden and stress. Friends with many chareidi relatives say that people are physically breaking down because they just can't afford it.

Anonymous said...

G-d bless israel. many if not all my rabbis over the last 20 years via the net are called hareidim. like breslov, chabad and some sefardic. i pray very hard that Hashem will not let them or their children lack in anything.
tonight is the 1 nissan where jews will be saying the birkat ha'ilanot prayer. may their numerous merits which ar e like the pomegranate seeds be worthy enough to overcome this present problem. G-d bless and happy nissan, the month of miracles. may it be so for israel too.

Anonymous said...

sorry, i meant tomorrow morning after the prayers, the birkat ha'ilanot prayers are said

Batya said...

amen, thanks, 10