The shameless Ms. Livni

Op-ed: Kadima leader’s mediocre track record doesn’t stop her from criticizing Netanyahu

Reuters | Published: 12.07.10, 00:03

Last week, we saw a media storm over Tzipi Livni’s harsh words about Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Among other things, she said that Netanyahu is anxious, weak, and untruthful.

It’s truly amazing to hear this mediocre politician every time, with her unimpressive track record, talking with such boldness at the Knesset podium.

We already saw Livni’s weakness in managing Israel’s foreign relations during her term as foreign minister. We saw the flawed functioning that led us directly into the Goldstone Report and prompted states all across Europe to issue warrants against Israeli military officials.

Ms. Livni got us out of the Second Lebanon War without any diplomatic achievement that we can boast of.

We also saw her anxiety and conduct under pressure after she was tasked with forming a coalition that was all ready to go, yet somehow she managed to screw this up completely and ended up sending Kadima to the opposition desert.

In her latest speech, Livni also quoted former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and made note of things he said about Netanyahu some 200 years ago.

On this front, I would propose that we patiently wait for attorney Dov Weissglass’ book. I believe that some of Sharon’s quotes regarding Ms. Livni that show what he really thought about her would balance the picture somewhat.

And by the way, in response to Netanyahu’s comment that Livni was sending text messages during his speech, she responded that he would be insulted if he saw the messages she was receiving and understood what the people thought of him.

Indeed, only a person who thinks she won the elections after her bloc won 52 out of 120 Knesset seats can think that the messages sent by her friends reflect the people’s mood.