The next prime minister

Who said there are no happy politicians? As of late Reuven Rivlin has been walking around the corridors of the Knesset wearing a smile on his face. He has good reason: Every rumor he hears pertaining to the candidacy of Shimon Peres for the premiership brings Rivlin closer to his own desired goal: The Presidential Residence.

Peres believes he is a supernatural phenomena, a unique person. He underestimates himself. He is not only exceptional - he is unique in every aspect, in every category. Throughout the years Israel has had numerous candidates for the premiership and quite a few for the presidency. Peres is the only one who contended for both posts simultaneously. More astonishing is the fact that he did so without announcing his candidacy to either of them. One...two...three...: Uri Geller has found an heir.

This magic trick is even more impressive when the arguments against Peres' election are taken into account. The first argument, the obvious one, is his age. Eighty-four is a problematic age to begin a seven-year presidential term, not to mention the skills required by a prime minister. However, age can be a relative issue. When David Ben Gurion was 50-years-old, he was named the "old man" by his associates. On the other hand Conrad Adenauer served as West Germany's chancellor until he reached the age of 87. Give Peres three years as a prime minister and the State of Israel will enter the Guinness Book of Records.

Embarrassing cliches

Another less familiar argument is Peres' record of handling security related matters commonly handled by prime ministers. Members of the Winograd Commission were very impressed by Peres' long term experience. They particularly noted the question he presented to the chief of staff at the cabinet meeting on July 12th, the meeting in which the decision was taken to attack Lebanon. "We must think two steps ahead," said Peres. "Let's say we do it, and they respond, then what?"

Peres made this necessary comment after he had called Ehud Barak on his way to the meeting to ask him what he should ask at the cabinet session. Peres did well by calling, and Barak did well for taking the credit for inventing the question.

Yet after Peres had asked the question and received a foolish and arrogant answer from the chief of staff (according to the protocols) Peres voted in favor of the war. The testimony he gave the commission after the war was a foolish attempt to hold the stick at both ends: To be smart in hindsight while also remaining loyal to the prime minister.

One can also find embarrassing cliches that testify to his ignorance on the problems that were exposed during the war. "I thought the IDF was not prepared for this war," he told the commission. "How did you know?" the commission asked and he replied: "From experience. The army is not prepared to fight terror at all, because the army and any army is built to fight another army. The war on terror more closely resembles the war on crime."

The war on terror resembles the war on terror, and the IDF has actually made some impressive achievements in recent years. As any private in the Golani Brigade knows, the war against Hizbullah is an entirely different story.

Cynical phase

Peres served as prime minister twice. During his second term in office, from Yitzhak Rabin's assassination to the defeat by Benjamin Netanyahu in 1996, he turned out to be a prime minister who was quick to pull the trigger.

One of his most controversial decisions was the assassination of Yehia Ayash alias the "engineer" in January 1996. The assassination sparked a wave of suicide bombings, and as Peres often says, led to his election defeat. Another decision was to embark on the Grapes of Wrath campaign in Lebanon. When a stray artillery shell accidentally killed dozens of refugees in the village of Qana, Peres panicked. A major part of the campaign's achievements were lost.

The third argument against Peres' appointment is that Peres is currently in the cynical phase of his career, the Ecclesiastes phase. He scorns everyone, except himself. This is a good recipe for survival in politics, but it will not rehabilitate the army after the botched war last summer.

It's impossible not to be amazed by Peres' appetite, there is no position he doesn't fancy, and there is no dignity beyond his dignity. Twenty-six-years ago Peres' aide declared him "the next prime minister." Since then he has always been "the next prime minister."