Who wants to be prime minister?
Some tips for Olmert, Livni, Netanyahu and Barak ahead of next elections
Elections will also be held in Israel in 2008, at least according to Ehud Barak's assurances. Following the Labor party primaries, preparations for the premiership contest have gotten underway. The election system in Israel is party-based, but the de facto elections are personal. The three large parties: Kadima, Labor and Likud, which will present candidates for the premiership, will obscure the ideological differences between them and sharpen the personal differences between the leaders.
Potential candidates, whether on behalf of the respective parties or on behalf of themselves, are already gearing up on the starting line, armed with battalions of advisors and opinion poll surveyors.
Following is an examination of their proposed election images.
Ehud Olmert –Ariel Sharon successor has begun mimicking the ailing PM's condition. Olmert is politically connected to respiratory machines and is unable to breathe independently. Winograd, Lindenstrauss and Barak are threatening to pull the plug. Recommended calls for action: With the appointment of Barak to the post of war minister, all that remains is the peace portfolio. The difference between a sacrificial chicken and a politician whose sins have been forgiven is a diplomatic process.
Tzipi Livni – Since tripping on the cable on the way to the press conference podium, where she called for Olmert's resignation, she hasn't been able to lift herself up. Her assertion during the second Lebanon War that diplomacy is the continuation of war by another means gave her some leeway. The Hamas, Iranian and Syrian reality have created a sense that war is the continuation of diplomacy by other means. As a feminine and civilian force in a security age, the premiership can wait. Call for action: Wait patiently for Olmert to trip up on the cable on the way to the press conference following the final Winograd report.
Benjamin Netanyahu – Opinion poll surveys are like perfume: They can be sniffed but mustn't intoxicate us, as Shimon Peres said after his 20 percent lead in the polls over Netanyahu in the 1996 elections resulted in ultimately defeat. Netanyahu, today's rating king, is now pondering the elected president's words of wisdom. The transition from the regular season to the elections playoffs calls for new tactics. Call for action: Netanyahu could have allowed himself to remain silent while Olmert and Peretz conducted a free fall parachute act without a parachute following the Second Lebanon War. Vis-a-via Barak as defense minister, such silence could lead to a drop in the polls.
Ehud Barak – A victory is a victory even when achieved via the arrangement of questionable en masse vote, and it appears that Barak used his hand, rather than head, to score the victory goal in the Arab sector a la Argentinean soccer star Maradona's famous goal in the 1986 world Cup. Maradona did not pay a price for the illegal goal, as he was considered a superstar. Barak would also enjoy such stardust if he shakes off the dealer dust. Calls for action: The key role of a defense minister in a war against Hamas and Gaza is not to achieve a victory, but rather, to provide security. It's the patience of a long-distance runner rather then an expert in sprints. It is also the conflict between someone who should conduct himself as though he has all the time in the world and one who wants to topple Olmert at any given moment. If Barak can resolve this contradiction, out of the inferno in Gaza may come the white smoke heralding the next prime minister.
