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Photo: Alex Kolomoisky
Time for the prime minister to stop the spin?
Photo: Alex Kolomoisky

The spin stops here

After long months of political spin aimed at keeping the prime minister in power, those in the political arena are beginning to tire of the cynical use of any means possible to stall for time. One can accuse Likud rebels of factionalism, but perhaps it is finally time to ask the prime minister and his people some tough questions

The prime minister is on the way to the president. No, wait, that report is not completely accurate. The truth is that Sharon is not afraid of elections. And again, it seems there is a new headline: Arik will split up the Likud. Oh, sorry, that’s already passe. The updated headline is: The prime minister has had enough. He doesn’t have any more strength or patience. One can’t run a country like this. Apologies again, here is an exclusive report from a trusted source: The prime minister will do what he has to. He has already done what is necessary in the past, and has always done that well. And if he doesn’t, well, then he doesn’t. In any case, there will be consequences that don’t bear thinking about.

 

If the lines above are not totally clear, don’t worry, no one is sure of what is really going on here, in spin land, and the only purposes of the headlines are to serve the political interests of Ariel Sharon: To prolong his time in power. From week to week, from one political obstacle to another, Sharon is leading his nation from threat to obstacle, from elections to factionalism, from factionalism to an explosion. Actually, he’s leading us from nothing to nowhere.

 

“The behavior of the coalition will have consequences,” Sharon promised the Knesset, after a large majority of Knesset Members voted against appointing two of his cronies, Ronnie Bar-On and Ze’ev Boim, as ministers.

 

Empty slogans 

 

What does Sharon mean when he talks about consequences? What really happened? Is Boim slightly sad? Is Bar-On biting his nails? No body dies from that.

 

The feeling in the political arena and in the press yesterday was one of revulsion: Enough. Even politicians, Likud Central Committee members, and journalists have had enough of chasing the blank headlines that Sharon and his people provide, headlines which serve their interests, and only their interests.

 

It’s all beginning to resemble one large farce, like a fake game that has no beginning and no end. Sharon’s spokespeople toured the Knesset for an entire day, and refused to simply spell out what Sharon would do if his ministerial appointments would not pass. As if the prime minister’s plans are his own personal toy. As if there are no citizens here.

 

The truth is that there are few options. There are actually only two of them: To appoint Ehud Olmert and Matan Vilnai through a separate vote, or to close down the stall and go to elections.

 

The danger of early elections still exists, and the problem is that in the last two weeks, it has been over inflated.

 

Today, the evaders of Sharon’s Office choose to keep the secrecy: We won’t say a thing about what will happen if the vote fails, they told reporters. And what happened when if failed? Nothing. Sharon made threats and spoke of consequences, got off the stage, held a meeting with all the ministers, and then got the finance minister approved with a large majority. The world didn’t stop, the Ministries of Industry, Trade, and Absorption didn’t close down because Boim wasn’t appointed to head them.

 

Time for tough quesions

 

Likud rebels can continue to be accused of factionalism and time wasting, but maybe the time has come, after long months of silence on the actions of Ariel Sharon, to start asking the prime minister the difficult questions, and addressing them to him. Maybe it is time to get off the backs of Uzi Landau and the seven dwarfs, the last surviving rebels, to stop working for the private political survival of Sharon, and to start dealing with the question: What do you actually want, Mr. Prime Minister?

 

Despite the fact that we’ve had enough, we must still ask what will be in the coming weeks and months. What will be in the budget, what will happen to the Likud, and what is the fate of the coalition.

 

It’s time for the shadow train to stop, and for someone to decide what he really wants.

 


פרסום ראשון: 11.08.05, 08:17
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