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Time to go to the ballots
The time has come to call elections so that the people, not inquiry committees, the media or the High Court, have their say
Because of the last war the government must be replaced. A country cannot justify its existence after so many mistakes. We cannot rely on a miracle. The system is suffering from comprehensive shock. The army understood this and now it’s the government’s turn. Too many amateurs led the last war and the nation deserves a chance to express what it thinks of their conduct.
It is time to call elections because there is no majority party in Israel. ‘Kadima’ doesn’t exist. It’s an internet website with a political party. It’s a brand name with only a few buyers. Kadima was the political effort of a man who is in a coma; a concept rendered meaningless today except for the fact that someone once believed in it. A ruling government needs a center, a clear political base used as its ideological platform to support a wide public base. Kadima is a collection of mediocre Knesset members with less than stellar government ministers and maybe 100 activists in the whole country. The party has no audience, no voter base, and no support. Kadima doesn’t exist in the public forum and its members don’t really have anyone to whom to be accountable.
Kadima is a fiction, a fiction that is part of the government.
It is time to call elections because what was called ‘the big bang’ has become irrelevant. The Labor and Likud parties have moved to the center and in reality there is no need for a large middle of the road party which will try to convince the people of Israel that the political game has changed. Netanyahu is in favor of talks with Syria. Beilin said that giving them weapons is not an option. (I swear to you that I heard him say it,) Kadima has no core message and if it does, then elections will test it.
It is time to call elections so that the potential candidates to head the government - Olmert, Barak (Ayalon?) and Netanyahu - can again spread their doctrine and we’ll know where we stand politically and diplomatically: Negotiations? Disengagement? Peace with Syria? Comprehensive peace? What does each one of the candidates propose to do about the Iranian threat? Wait until it is carried out? Appoint Lieberman to be the minister of threats even more strategic? To beg the Americans to politely ask the Iranians to stop building that thing that is going to fall on us in another four, or seven, or 12 years?
It is time to call elections because we have the right to express our opinion about the former finance minister’s explanation of suspicions against him as close relations with a generous aunt and despite this remained in the job until last week. Considering that he was entrusted with the public piggy bank, not because of any talent one can discern, it is our right to express our opinion on the matter.
It is also our right to show where we stand regarding the investigations of the prime minister (And my own opinion by the way which I have stated in the past: You can say a lot of things about Ehud Olmert but he isn't corrupt.)
It is time to call new elections because opinion polls show us that only four percent of the public believes that the prime minister deserves to keep his job. These astonishing numbers are not just a knee jerk reaction or temporary unpopularity. They show a breach that needs to be mended. A country cannot afford such a lack of faith in the person who stands at the helm.
It is time to call new elections because the pensioners' party, a unique party that emerged by mistake, is huge and the time has come for it to disband and its members realign themselves with more powerful groups. The Kadima faction is also worth much less than reflected by the number of mandates it has. The entire political reality requires adjustment in order to represent the public spirit at this time. Many things have happened in the brief period since the elections and it is time to go back and re-examine the distribution of power.
It is time to call elections because we are going nowhere. There is no leadership. We are in the pits politically, militarily and socially. We await the next thing; respond to the initiatives of others instead of being pro active and taking the initiative. Most of the time we relay on miracles. It’s time for change.
It is time to call elections because the prime minister, despite best intentions, failed to create a worthy leadership, a decisive government with a clear agenda. Maybe this is a result of inexperience or bad luck but we are currently being led by one of the most lackluster governments ever. We live in a political reality with a coalition that has neither a political nor socio-economic objective, just a bunch of narrow interests. The public deserves another opportunity to determine its political assembly.
It is time to call elections because the time has come for the people, not Winograd, Zeiler, the media or the High Court, to have a say. It is time to call elections. High time.
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