'Buji is a fine young man, but Labor should take the hint'
Photo: Gil Yohanan
Amnon Abramovich
Photo: Tzvika Tishler
Labor shouldn’t bet on Herzog again
Op-ed: The Labor Party needs a leader like Amir Peretz, Shaul Mofaz or Ron Huldai – someone who is capable of marketing leadership and security, rather than baby food.
One of the portfolios tossed like a tennis ball during the negotiations for the government's establishment was the Energy and Infrastructure portfolio, until it was inserted into Yuval Steinitz's hands. Candidates who were asked to assume the portfolio were told, in a whisper in their ear, that within a short while, very soon, a lot of oil will be found in the Golan Heights, and they will then receive eternal fame. They will become the Yitzhak Tshuva of Israeli politics.
The trade-in in the portfolios' distribution was likened in the media to a circus. This allegory is slanderous and contains some libel, because in a circus people express their talents, skills and virtuosity.
We are talking about a drilling project which is taking place between Katzrin and the Sea of Galilee, mainly near Kibbutz Natur. A drilling with a lot of investment and hardly any chance, which has evoked great anger among the area's residents and the environmental quality and protection associations.
Security is the Key
Op-ed: Instead of drawing conclusions after losing elections, Labor leaders use mathematical exercises to explain how well the party did. When will they learn that the Israeli public prefers to be led by IDF chiefs of staff?
Now there is an attempt to shift the blame, the burden, from the negotiators to the "method." In the Prime Minister's Office, they are dwelling on the Italian method, which grants the biggest party a big bonus. When in Rome, the banal saying goes, do as the Romans do, and when in Jerusalem do as the Jerusalemites do. Forget the fact that the Italian method distorts the voters' desire and crushes considerable parts of society, maybe even most of them. It’s no coincidence that it has been called "the hoggish method."
If Labor goes with Herzog again, Netanyahu's achievement will be even bigger (Photo: Reuters)
The negotiations proved that Netanyahu's problem was with his party members more than with his partners. In other words, if the Likud alone had a majority in the Knesset, Netanyahu would have had to feed more mouths and satisfy the hunger and greed of more Knesset members. We would have then witnessed more aggressive pressures and threats, more bold extortions, many more self-hospitalizations on the eve of the voting. A method, a mechanism or patents which can neutralize the embarrassment and weakness of a terrified negotiators, who is easily influenced by pressure, have yet to be invented.
Netanyahu is making an effort to expand the government. He is wooing Isaac Herzog. Winking at Yair Lapid. Trying to seduce Avigdor Lieberman.
A 61-member coalition will be able to survive for a while. Survival is the supreme command, but it will surely fail to implement any of its plans. Moshe Kahlon has to be a sucker to linger a day after he passes the budget. The coalition agreement has mortgaged NIS 9-10 billion ($2.3-2.6 billion) a year, most of it for political purposes and only a little for the Defense Ministry budget, as opposed to the defense budget. Moreover, without a dramatic movement in the peace process, the Israeli economy is expected to turn into a punching bag. Kahlon, wake up, your reputation is worth more than this.
In the first week of his government, Netanyahu managed to fired, on the phone, Communications Ministry Director-General Avi Berger, formerly the head of the Weapons Department at the IDF's Teleprocessing Corps, a global expert on communication networks, who decided to put an end to Bezeq's expensive monopoly and improve the situation of many Israeli households. The dismissal showed that Netanyahu couldn’t care less about his voters.
The opposition should already begin its preparations for the next battle. Tzipi Livni wants to unite the movements. To hold a thorough series of discussions on uniting the two historical parties: The Labor Movement-Poale Zion, which was founded by David Ben-Gurion and intellectual founder Berl Katznelson, with Hatnua, which was founded by Livni and the intellectual founder Yoel Hasson, a movement with six secure spots. Such a merger of course aims to attach Tzipi to Buji (Herzog) and the two of them to the top of the Zionist Union.
Buji is a fine young man. A Jewish mother's dream as a match for her daughter. But if they go with him again, Netanyahu's achievement will be bigger. The Labor Party was punished for placing a cabinet secretary as its candidate for prime minister. In the next elections it may receive a double punishment for failing to take the hint.
Labor needs leaders who are less affiliated with Tel Aviv's Tzuk Beach and more affiliated with the next Operation Tzuk Eitan (Protective Edge). Amir Peretz and Shaul Mofaz, for example. One is a social Mizrahi, the other a security Mizrahi. It may be Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai. Maybe even Knesset Members Erel Margalit or Omer Bar-Lev. Someone who provides a feeling or an outward appearance of leadership, of security. Someone who is capable of marketing leadership, rather than fruit puree and baby food.
Amnon Abramovich is a Channel 2 News commentator.
