(This the second of a two part series.)
Many of you have been asking me to explain the confusing, ever changing, mixed up world of Israeli politics. OK, gang, today is that day, but in order to do it so it's more enjoyable for everybody, I have decided to conduct the class at MZ's bar. I'll be pouring generously for the occasion, which will of course be compliments of the house, so grab yourself a bar stool and belly up; the political party is about to begin!
Likud
Ok, as you may have noticed in part one of my series, Likud, the current ruling party in Israel, was conspicuously missing from my analysis of the current political landscape in Israel. The reason for that is the party is in a stage of total chaos. The fact is, nobody is sure if Likud will even be a third party when the dust settles.
The question is, what is Likud? They used to be the conservative nationalist party in Israel: uncompromising on Land and ruthless in response to "Palestinian" terror. People who voted Likud were true rightwingers, not necessarily religious right, but definitely greater Israel types who's motto was "not one inch" in dealing with the moslems.
That is clearly no longer the case. First, Netanyahu swung Likud's politics to the left when he held the PM office in the late nineties by advancing the Oslo accords, conceding Hevron to the moslems, and actively engaging Yassir Arafat as a "partner in peace". Except for his initial political rhetoric and some conservative economic policy, he was virtually indistinguishable from Labor.
After being run out of office on the heels of scandal, corruption, and incompetence, Likud collapsed. They were a distant second in the political scene to the recharged leftwing Labor Party led by ex military hero, Ehud Barak.
Well, we all know how Barak caved in to Arafat and eventually gave way to "bulldozer" Ariel Sharon in the 2000 elections by a landslide. Everyone viewed Sharon as the hardest of the rightwing tough guys who would pummel the Palestinians if they so much as blinked the wrong way.
WRONG! Sharon expelled his rightwing coalition in favor of an alliance with Labor and Meretz, gave away all of Gaza to the moslems and eventually left Likud altogether to pursue even greater capitulations to terror in the Kadima Party he suddenly founded.
--Hey! Time for a round of Rum Runners, gang! Drink, drink, drink!--
Which brings us back now full circle to Bibi. Well, now Bibi inherits a party in ruins following Sharon's exit, and instead of deciding to bring Likud back to the right in order to nail down the nationalist vote, he immediately invites leftist Silvan Shalom to be his number two man on the ticket and announces plans to purge the Jewish Leadership faction led by Moshe Feiglin, who finished third in the Likud primaries, from the party altogether.
So, the question isn't if Likud will be a serious player in the next election, but who will this fading party bother aligning with in the government, and with so many leftwing and center left parties already out there, is Likud even relevant at all any more?
In fact, polls are showing Likud will get anywhere from 9-12 seats in the coming election, and if that does not improve they may be the 5th party in knesset membership. It doesn't look good for them at all right now.
They lose the Left to Labor, the Right to National Union and the religious parties, and the center to Kadima. They will scavenge a few traditional Likud voters, and score some who are still hoping they are not as concessionist as they appear, but, truth be told, we may be seeing a dying party fading out of relevence before our very eyes.
--Last Call! Time for a round of Mellon Balls!--
Anyway, it's time to see what becomes of all this. The elections will be held at the end of March, and in Israeli time that's forever.
-MZ
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3 comments:
It boggles the mind.
One can ALMOST understand the complacency over here.
We dont have jihadis murdering us every day.
In Israel though, I cannot fathom ANYONE wanting the jihadis to win - or even believing that they will come to peaceful terms.
Have the academia fools there managed to delete and revise so much history that even the Jews dont know the history of Islam - or even the past century?
It's simply astounding.
check out the next article down while i go get my aspirin and a big glass of cabernet sippage.
Taz, they have been bamboozled by leftwing secularism. Fortunately, the liberal, self-loathing concessionists are not reproducing, while the Religious conservatives are popping them out in record numbers. The math looks good for a big political shift in about 10 years.
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