Words are not enough
Olmert's speech applauded by some, but ultimately it won't make a difference
Make no mistake about it: Our prime minister wants to be popular. Oh, how badly he wishes that he were popular. He would do so much in order to be popular. But he is not.
To his credit it should be said that yesterday he made a very popular speech. It was so popular that it seemed his party members took a short timeout from the plots aimed at replacing him in order to applaud him.
Olmert's problem is not with speeches. He is a wonderful public speaker. Even during the war he managed to convince us that we were about to win. He was so popular back then. Only a few months ago, he made a very popular speech at late Prime Minister Ben Gurion's gravesite. He was applauded in Israel. The White House cheered on. Even Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni praised him. Since then, Olmert's approval rating dropped by another 10 percent.
It is not easy for Olmert. When he says that every morning he wakes up to face a cauldron of poison, this is not a metaphor. He justifiably feels that everything is closing in on him: The state comptroller, the investigations, the media, the polls, the commentators, Netanyahu, his fellow Kadima members, the Winograd Commission – how much more can a person take?
Olmert was able to convey this sense yesterday. The human feeling of a person who feels that he is being persecuted. The sense of an animal in the midst of hunting season. The solitude of a leader facing immense waves of hostility, while having to continue running the country.
Israel a difficult country
Some people will say it was the speech of a crybaby. They will say there is no contradiction between getting things done and being popular. The fact is, even when the country was facing a nadir, former Prime Minister Sharon was popular. And speaking of Sharon, he would never allow himself to deliver such speech.
Others will admit it was an excellent speech; that the words did something to them; that Olmert was able to climb a step up from the nadir he is currently facing, and that much of what he said was true. This is a difficult country. Demanding. Unforgiving. Even Hercules would not be more successful as a prime minister.
Kadima hugged Olmert with one hand yesterday. With the other hand, they held the knives behind their back. It was a short moment of mercy for their party leader that stemmed entirely from personal motives: They know that their survivability is wholly dependent on their unity.
