This author is no great fan of Education Minister Limor Livnat. But the vicious attack upon her by aides of PM Sharon (who termed her demand for investigation of the Schlaf case was “metaphorically speaking, accessory to murder”) was uncalled for and seems emblematic of a prevailing Kadima spin; “EVERYONE ELSE is Responsible.”
PM Aides Blame Livnat for Worsening of His Health
Look at what this mindset has wrought regarding the police, the Justice System, the State Comptroller and the Likud, the former party of Sharon, of Olmert, HaNegbi, Mofaz, etc.;
Police to Reevaluate Sharon Bribery Investigation
Bar-On Blames Timing of Bribery Leak on Politicking
Lindenstrauss Delays Report on Disengagement
Likud Undecided on Planned Resignations
Likud to Stay in Israel Govt for Now – Minister
Bibi Replaces Chief of Staff as Too Right Wing [Leiter ‘too Right Wing for Bibi’s Image’]
The opposing parties are basically handcuffed, hen-pecked and walking on egg shells in this campaign with a mere 77 days to election day.
Labor is afraid to start it’s campaign, but at least it’s players are chosen and in place. The Likud Ministers remain in the government, the Knesset slate has yet to be chosen by the Central Committee.
And Benjamin Netanyahu seems a scared, weak-willed leader, as with giving away 80 % of Chevron and as with the Wye Agreement, lacking the requisite “fire in the belly” to do what needs to be done, to run the kind of strong campaign which will send Kadima to defeat. Bibi is scared of his own shadow, he’s scared of Feiglin, he’s cared of Yechiel Leiter, he’s scare of Sylvan Shalom and he is scared of the Olmert/Kadima spin of voter perception of his being extremist, of running a negative campaign, etc. He’s too wrapped in fear of spin perception to campaign about the connection between a Jew and his Land, about the economic, pocketbook and security consequences of the expulsion. He’s soo scared that in doing so, he’ll be seen as desecrating “the holy grail.” And so he remains the same old indecisive, weak Bibi, i.e. when you see the sweat beads form above Bibi’s upper lip, he’s done — surrender-city.
One of the few in Likud that has it right seems to be Knesset Speaker Ruby Rivlin;
Speaker Rivlin Opposes Decision to Remain in Govt
Here’s some of what he says;
“Rivlin stated on Saturday night that ministers should act on the original decision and resign from the cabinet immediately.”
“Rivlin is calling on Likud to continue its opposition to the policies of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, adding the party must work with increased tenacity against the acting prime minister.”
It seems to this author that the scenario may have been set up by Sharon’s associates, perhaps Ehud Olmert, perhaps even by Sharon himself before the stroke as a contingency plan for such an eventuality. The whole spin process since the first stroke, particularly that which kicked in since last Wednesday Night, 4 January seems to have been organized as meticulously and with the same level of anticipation of reaction as was the expulsion.
In short Ehud Olmert and Kadima must be stopped — cold and defeated on election day.
Batya writes here on Shilo Musings; “Olmert is well prepared for his new role… He has more administrative experience than any other politician. He was Mayor of Jerusalem and was a very involved mayor. Most other Knesset Members and ministers are incapable of running their offices, while Olmert ran a city, one of the most complex in the world.”
But she also reminds us of this important point which seems lost on the handcuffed, egg-shells walking Bibi and the Likud; The following is a quote from Ehud Olmert in September, 2005;
“We are tired of fighting, we are tired of being courageous, we are tired of winning, we are tired of defeating our enemies, we want that we will be able to live in an entirely different environment of relations with our enemies. We want them to be our friends, our partners, our good neighbors.”
Olmert’s statement is about as absurd a comment as has been heard from a sitting Prime Minister, a Deputy Prime Minister or an Acting Prime Minister since Ehud Barak spoke his gem on Yom HaZikaron, 5760; “Heavy, maybe too heavy, is the price we bear for our independence and building the 52 years of the State of Israel.”
Couple that with Olmert’s recent hateful, vindictive move against the suffering Refugees of the Expulsion via the 28.5% Airport Tax on donations of clothing and other supplies to the poor and the Gush Katif Refugees and it is obvious that there is an imperative that Olmert and Kadima be defeated in the upcoming elections.
Ehud Olmert’s hate and arrogance has manifested itself in this act against the poor and the expulsion refugees in the same way that he aggressively came across on the new Nefesh b’Nefesh arrivals who he addressed on the very day that the expulsion began.
He and his party must be defeated on election day and he must be shown that hateful, vindictive cunning against the Jews, against the electorate will not succeed despite leftist spin. MB