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Amir Peretz (top) is the man who brought Labor a social agenda
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'Netanyahu (top) will put together the next government'
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Stupidly optimistic

Kadima is trying to dumb down these elections, and neither Labor nor Likud can do anything about it

Last Tuesday, a little while before Benjamin Netanyahu presented the Likud's economic platform, Eli Kornfeld made a bold prediction to reporters.

 

"Netanyahu will put together the next government," said Netanyahu's longtime advisor. "Our internal polls suggest that Kadima will fall apart, and the Likud will win 26 or 27 seats. Just don’t say I never told you."

 

Someone else said there is only one thing to say about Kornfeld's assessment: They may be stupid, but at least they are optimistic.

 

While Ehud Olmert presents his show of horror to the media (complete with red eyes, head down, shrugged shoulders, slow, measured, heavy, phony speech), the Likud and Labor parties continue to hope, continue to show some signs of life.

 

While Kadima tries to bore the public to sleep, to silence people, to hide everyone – neither Labor or Likud can manage to get a headline, just another minute of air time, just a little more media attention.

 

Taking off the gloves

 

Both parties have dropped the gloves in recent weeks and began a frontal assault on Olmert and Kadima.

 

Olmert says Shelly Yechimovitz, the head of the war on corruption, is no Sharon: He's corrupt, but he won't bring peace. So why vote for him?

 

Over in the Likud, they say Olmert will bow to Hamas, transfer money to them, and expose the country to real danger. This is the guy you want to be prime minister?

 

In the meanwhile, the negative campaigning has yet to show signs of success. The polls, strange animals as they may be, continue to show 40 or more seats for Kadima, and many, many fewer for Likud and Labor.

 

Despite Hamas, Qassams and poverty, Olmert's deafening, threatening silence is still beating the facts presented by his opponents. "The country is in a coma," complained one senior Likud official to a Labor Party counterpart. "Nothing will move it."

 

And by the way, if even a tenth of what Labor and Likud are saying is true, Olmert will have a tough time. A very tough time.

 

'Kadima continuing to use Sharon'

 

"I wouldn’t call it negative campaigning," said Roni Rimon, Labor's campaign director. "We are only trying to show what the government will look like under Olmert. I think we must reveal clearly the responsibility of the current government for the current situation. Olmert cannot present himself as prime minister and reap the fruits when it is convenient for him but deny responsibility for the terrible position of millions of Israelis in different arenas."

 

Knesset Member Gilad Arden, head of the Likud's response team, doesn't get what all the fuss is about.

 

"I don't think we've taken off the gloves," he says. "Everyone accuses us of getting personal, of negative campaigning when we attack Olmert's decisions. But Kadima refuses to address the essence of our claims. Instead of debating the issues, they've got bumper stickers with Bibi (Netanyahu) in a panic. They are conducting a sleazy, personal campaign and refuse to respond to our claims about the issues at hand. And at the same time, they continue to Sharon in their campaign, so the country will think Sharon is still on their election slate."

 

In theory, Arden and Rimon are entirely correct. And so they will continue to show what they call the "true Olmert." And the Likud, by the way, has begun a campaign in Jerusalem to remind residents of Olmert’s "achievements" as mayor.

 

Hiding Olmert

 

Olmert's advisors are prepared for this, and they will do what they did with Sharon in the past: they will try to hide him. They are using every trick in the book to try to portray Olmert as a man who underwent a sudden metamorphosis the moment national responsibility was dropped in his lap.

 

But the reality is that nothing really changed. Olmert is the same Olmert (except for his colorful ties), and Kadima has nothing concrete to present at the moment. There is no platform, not even a pamphlet about its programs. Essentially, they are promising to say nothing, not to make any commitments.

 

One can attack or dismiss Netanyahu's campaign promise to defeat poverty within three years, and one may doubt Amir Peretz's promise to raise minimum wage to 1000 dollars (NIS 4500) per month – but at least they are saying SOMETHING, promising something, committing themselves to something.

 

Even those who don't like them know that at least Netanyahu and Peretz have several issues they are connected to with every ounce of their political beings. It's hard to say the same thing about Olmert. If you look at the past three years, it seems that the only thing Olmert excels at is disappearing, staying out of the country as much as possible, not getting in the way

 

Poison mouth

 

Over in Kadima, people are not too concerned about the criticism. One of Olmert's advisors predicts 46 seats for Kadima.

 

"So what if Olmert appears like he's half-dead," said the advisor following an unimpressive TV interview by Olmert, "From my perspective, he did his job. He showed people at home exactly what we wanted them to see: measured, quiet, the weight of the country on his shoulders, red eyes."

 

In the advisors opinion, by the way, Olmert has always gotten the job done, always carried out their instructions to a tee. Since Ariel Sharon was elected prime minister he has always done what he's been asked, as well as possible."

 

This face of Olmert reminded someone this week of an incident that happened more than a year ago. At the time, Olmert was a senior minister in the government, Peres and the Labor Party were part of the coalition, and Sharon was pushing the Gaza pullout.

 

Olmert, as usual, went on radio and raged at anyone and everyone around. "If we could just get rid of Olmert and Peres," said one of Sharon's closest advisors, we could run the country as it should be run. These two, it would be better if they were a long way away. Every time either one opens his mouth, they cause damage."

 

Pay attention…

 

… To the Labor Party. It can't decide: On one hand, Amir Peretz is the man who brought Labor a social agenda. But on the other hand, how can we put it gently… more than a few Israelis find that moustache more than a bit annoying.

 

How can you tell? Polls, studies, examinations. Some, say Labor officials, say Amir is annoying, really annoying. And so the great dilemma, that Labor is not quite sure what to do about, is: To hide Amir or not to hide Amir?

 

… To Matan Vilnai. Last week, Shelly Yechimovitz was nominated to head the war on corruption, and the Labor Party breathed easy. Vilnai, the previous head, did nothing in his long months in the job. He did prepare some sort of written program, but no one's heard from him since about Labor's program to fight corruption.

 

So Peretz's staff decided to give the portfolio to the media-savvy Yechimovitz. Why? Because Vilnai – listen up, here – is too boring.

 

As one senior Labor figure put it, "Matan could even put the dead to sleep."

 


פרסום ראשון: 02.13.06, 11:11
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