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Leader of the most corrupt party. Sharon

The fight for corruption

Sharon’s new party Kadima, is, hands down, the most corrupt

The Israeli public will be asked to decide on March 28 between two difficult choices: Which party is more corrupt – the new one, created by Ariel Sharon and his son Omri, or the Likud party that Sharon was forced to flee at the last minute?

 

At first glance, it is tough to decide which option is correct. On the one hand, Sharon himself has a long history of incidents; his son Omri has been convicted on charges of bribery and perjury; MKs Ruhama Avraham and Eli Aflalo have been accused of improper dealings with the Agrexco Corporation, and then there is Internal Security Minister Gideon Ezra and several other power-hungry types. It’s a real all-star team.

 

On the other hand, there is no shortage over in the Likud, either: There's Benjamin Netanyahu’s Amedi affair, Tzahi Hanegbi and his "Successful Way" foundation, which is the unquestioned king of political appointments; MK Naomi Blumenthal and her corruption case, MKs Michael Gorlovsky and Yehiel Hazan and their false voting cases, MK Ehud Yatom and other saints.

 

But at the end of the day, the Kadima Party wins, hands down: Deceiving the attorney general, perjury, the millions of dollars the Sharon family has taken from private businessmen trying to advance their interests, the Cyril Kern case and silencing of key witnesses are more serious than that the goings-on in Likud.

 

In the best case scenario, it's major- vs. minor league corruption.

 

Hit 'em where it hurts

 

Sharon's advisers say corruption is the soft underbelly of the new party, that Labor, Meretz and right-wing parties could strike a real blow by playing the corruption card. And they know the blows could hurt.

 

That's where the open, infectious wounds are, and they could cause serious poisoning and cause voters to flee. The phenomenon by which voters vomited out the Labor Party in 1977, and the Likud in 1992, because of corruption could easily repeat itself this time around.

 

This is what worries those close to Sharon, and they want to go on the offensive to warn adversaries on the right and the left not to open the Pandora's Box. “You're corrupt, too,” they warn opponents in both Labor and Likud.

 

But one never knows in the world of politics, and Sharon's people are busy looking for deodorant to dispel the bad odor. They just aren't having very much luck: No factory in the world could take away such a foul stench. The spray to hide this rot has yet to be invented.

 

Enlisting support

 

In order to overcome this problem, they turned to Holon Mayor Moti Sasson, to try and persuade him to at least issue a public statement in support of Sharon – and were rejected.

 

They considered enlisting the services of Rishon Letzion Mayor Meir Nitzan, apparently assuming the public has forgotten he was convicted on bribery charges.

 

They hung Justice Minister Tzipi Livni out to dry after she lost her standing over a spat about the judges nomination committee, relying instead on the fabulous Chaim Ramon. At the very least, he knows how to talk.

 

What? Chaim Ramon is supposed to whitewash the deeds of the Sharon family? He's the test rabbit in Operation Clean Hands? The same guy who orchestrated the "filthy maneuver" in the early 1990s – that ugly move that stole the election from Yitzhak Shamir and gave it to Shimon Peres – he's the great savior? The man hated by so many Labor voters for what he did to the Histadrut labor federation will bring them around to vote for Sharon? Has someone in the new party forgotten to do his homework?

 

And if not Ramon, then who? You may have thought former Shin Bet Director Avi Dichter. You know, a security guy.

 

But security's not exactly Sharon's problem. He needs different help: A respected lawyer, someone like Dan Meridor, clearly identified with the rule of law.

 

Sharon's problem here is that Meridor has already seen this movie: Sharon used him last time around – and promptly discarded him. Why should Meridor help him now? Why should he align himself with someone who has frustrated the police, the state prosecutor and the courts? Why should he become a television puppet for the second time?

 


פרסום ראשון: 11.27.05, 18:54
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