Ms. Livni, 48, is a popular but austere figure, and her statement was hardly a clarion call to rebellion against Mr. Olmert. He must make his own decision, she said, but her defection was the biggest blow so far to Mr. Olmert’s chances of hanging on to office, and it lays a clear marker down that she will fight to replace him inside the party.
But Mr. Olmert insisted that he would not quit, and his aides suggested that Ms. Livni had violated the principle of collective government and should herself resign. Some suggested that Mr. Olmert would fire her, but others said that might only make her more popular. One Olmert aide said that Ms. Livni had hoped he would fire her, but that instead he would “leave her out to dry.”
Herzl anticipated Jewish cops rounding up Jewish prostitutes on the streets of Tel Aviv, but could he have imagined this level of machination, incompetence, and corruption in Israel's political leadership? (It does, I suppose, beat tribal sheikhs.)
With all the human talent in Israeli society, how can one explain, or understand, its political failings? Democracy gone wild?
2 comments:
With all the human talent in Israeli society, how can one explain, or understand, its political failings? Democracy gone wild?
Materialism run amok, triumphing over spiritual and family values?
Actually, I think that is way over-simplified. The religious parties, who represent constituencies with "traditional values," play very rough, and are hardly immune from corrupt practices. The problems with Defense Minister Peretz, whose background is as a labor leader, seem to focus on his being out of his depth on defense policy. Sexual scandals are, well, sexual scandals, and as we see in America, affect religious leaders as well as others.
There is, I think, a deeper problem with whether talented people of integrity are drawn to lives in politics. That problem is hardly limited to Israel (witness the recent Republican debate), but the very hard-ball character of Israeli political style, and its multi-party coalition structure dependent on long-term party discipline, may contribute to it. Dictatorships tend to be less messy, at least between convulsions. Witness one-man (and often hereditary) rule through much of Israel's neighborhood--Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait.
There must be more to it.
Post a Comment