Commentary;
Shlomo Avineri has often been seen as a flaming Lefty, but read this! Incredible — No Agenda At All.
Elections Now By Shlomo Avineri
Excerpts;
Israel’s future as a democracy – not the personal fates of Ehud Olmert and Amir Peretz – is in question following this latest war.
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert should consider stepping down. His resignation would also result in the resignation of the rest of the government, and would thereby pave the way for new elections.
It is clear that conventional political wisdom would advise the prime minister not to do so. “Wait, ride out the storm, and survive,” would be the traditional advice.
Not this time. Sooner or later, there will be a commission of inquiry – like there was in 1973, and again in 1982.
It would appear that this will happen this time, too. It is hard to imagine the prime minister and defense minister continue to function in their current roles.
The public is angry – hundreds of thousands of people who spent more than a month in the line of non-stop katyusha attacks and who feel the government abandoned them; and reserve soldiers who felt they were thrown into battle without proper equipment and given conflicting orders.
During the war, the prime minister and defense minister waffled back and forth between boasting and hesitation, and showed an inability to make decisions. The entire country saw and heard.
Shock waves coming
Those who believe this anger will blow over are wrong. It will not blow over. It will send shock waves up and down.
What must be ensured at the moment is that the crisis of faith in the government doesn’t turn into a crisis of faith in Israeli democracy. Olmert’s and Peretz’s personal fates are not the question here. The future of the country is the question.
Those who believe everything is alright have nothing to fear from new elections.
This government was given a mandate in the last elections to conduct the realignment plan. Even those who believe – as I do – that such a move would be the best way to reduce the dimensions of the conflict, must now admit that the program will not be on the agenda in the immediate future.
Now is a time to rehabilitate, to heal, to support. This shackled government can’t do it, and it’s members will be worried about their own survival and with mutual accusations – either before the commission of inquiry or before the fury of the public. But they will not be able to function.
It would also appear that in the next elections, I won’t like the results, but again, that is not the question at hand. Now, it is clear as day that Israel cannot be led by two people with no experience or thorough knowledge of security, the army and policy.
Even those who have experience have been known to make mistakes – but those who lack such experience don’t know what questions to ask the army or what demands to make from it. We all saw the results.
The public has a right to decide if it wants these leaders, or if it wants change . This must not be left to some or another commission or to the media’s incitement. That’s what elections are for. That is the nature of democracy.