Subscribe to Print Edition | Wed., November 26, 2008 Cheshvan 28, 5769 | | Israel Time: 09:07 (EST+7)   Back to Homepage web haaretz.com Haaretz Toolbar Diplomacy Defense Jewish World Opinion National Print Edition Car Rental Books Haaretz Magazine Business Real Estate GA 2008 Travel Week's End Anglo File

Tzipi Tzipi Bang Bang By Yoel Marcus Tags: Israel News, Tzipi Livni Five Israeli prime ministers rose to power without moving up Election Day. Moshe Sharett replaced David Ben-Gurion; Levi Eshkol replaced Ben-Gurion; Golda Meir replaced Eshkol; Yitzhak Rabin replaced Golda; and Yitzhak Shamir replaced Menachem Begin. Now again, early elections could have been avoided. There was no legal, public or parliamentary obstacle to keep the current government from continuing to serve in its present configuration, apart from Tzipi Livni taking over for Ehud Olmert, until the scheduled election two years from now. Livni gradually became the darling of the public, her white suits reflecting her spotless character in contrast to Olmert's blackness. But victory seems to have left her a little tipsy. Asked to form the next government, she declared with resolve (or maybe arrogance) that she would have a new cabinet ready within 10 days. Her mistake was in letting herself be dragged into a marathon of unjustified talks with Ehud Barak, which led to a call for elections that neither of them wanted. Day by day, Barak revealed himself as one of our most bumbling politicians yet, clogged up the works with his foot-dragging and got Shas started on a whole slew of unreasonable demands, from bigger budgets to a moratorium on discussing the future of Jerusalem. Advertisement Livni's fatal error was in not being sufficiently tough with Barak and in not giving him a 48-hour ultimatum to respond. So from the ideal - a Knesset in which the majority of members are not eager for elections for personal reasons, and a Likud opposition consisting of a total of 12 seats - Livni got herself mixed up in the last thing she wanted, which was early elections. In politics, as in life, timing is everything. The Labor party is in shambles; the large bloc that calls itself Kadima is in danger of falling apart or shrinking; and worst of all, Benjamin Netanyahu is on the rebound. Livni's final mistake was in informing the president that she didn't need the extra eight days that were coming to her, and declaring that she would go to the polls right now. In her place, a veteran politician would have made every possible concession to Shas - anything to keep elections at bay. Pushing up the date was Livni's biggest boo-boo. But regardless of what the surveys said late last week, it is too early to eulogize Livni. You don't cry over spilt milk. Rather, you learn from experience and mistakes. Livni's first mistake was in not looking back and learning that nearly all our prime ministers, even the all-time greats, left the dirty work to those who knew how to do it best. The mythical Mapai activist Shraga Netzer was Ben-Gurion's eminence grise. Levi Eshkol relied on Pinchas Sapir. Yitzhak Shamir had Dan Meridor, and Menachem Begin had Simcha Ehrlich. To make a long story short, every prime minister had someone to deal with the crud. Livni handled the negotiations on her own and missed out on an important first step - creating a defensive bloc to keep herself blackmail-free. She didn't "seize the moment," as Henry Kissinger liked to say. According to a respected polling expert, the weekend surveys are jumping the gun. For starters, half of the country's 18-35 year olds may not vote. On top of that, Likud's leap into the race with a supermarket array of candidates plucked from here, there and everywhere looks more like a gimmick, or maybe a way of getting even with Ariel Sharon, who left the Likud high and dry when he quit to found Kadima. Livni's campaign did not start well. Her face covering a billboard the size of a house, along with the slogan "It's good for the state," might be a nice toothpaste ad, but as a political message it's pretty lame. Her campaign should have kicked off with Obama's "Yes we can." Instead, Shas grabbed that motto. I wouldn't be surprised if Rabbi Ovadiah Yosef, who called secular teachers "jackasses," was promised the education portfolio. So Livni has made a tactical mistake, but to her credit, she has strategic plans in her bag for resolving the Palestinian issue and Israel's social problems. She has shown flashes of the kind of spunk needed to be a prime minister in Israel. When she turned down Shas' ultimatum and declared that she would not lend a hand to those who would sell the country to the Haredim, she made it clear that not everything is up for grabs and even extortion has its limits. It's definitely another brand of politics. That is a refreshing message in a country where the political system has been sullied and debased under Likud and Haredi rule. We still have two months to go before the election and the contest is not over yet. But with the integrity that dominates her personality and the lessons she has learned, Livni, our local Iron Lady, is still the most worthy candidate for prime minister. So go, Livni, go! Tzipi Tzipi Bang Bang, we love you. Bookmark to del.icio.us   The 'beauty machine' Want to optimize your looks without radically altering them? now you can. Lebanon needs unity Khamenei to Lebanese President: Iran will always stand beside Lebanon.   1.   "in politics, as in life, timing is everything." 10:35  |  saul a. readner 25/11/08   2.   LIVNI HAS NO INTEGRITY 13:23  |  FAD EGYPT 25/11/08   3.   Tzipi actually showed 14:44  |  Robert Haymond 25/11/08   4.   Yoel Marcus, Tzipi Tzipi Bang Bang 19:05  |  Gesine Strempel 25/11/08   5.   ANYTHING to avoid those dreaded elections, right Marcus? 21:10  |  Chaim 25/11/08   6.   Just to be clear (#3), 22:59  |  Robert Haymond 25/11/08   7.   Yoel Marcus in la la land again 00:11  |  joe 26/11/08   8.   Livni is a defeatist and an inept extreme leftist 04:05  |  ALFRED 26/11/08   9.   Cute! but not convinced Kadima can do it 05:08  |  Smadar 26/11/08   10.   Yoel, Its OK That Meretz is gone, Labor is Dead and Bibi Is Back 08:59  |  Baruch Gold 26/11/08

Read & React Documents reveal IDF killed wanted Palestinians against court guidelines Responses: 27 Olmert to Bush: Ensure Obama doesn't press Israel on nuclear issue Responses: 17 Aluf Benn: Obama's challenge will be to persuade Netanyahu to advance peace Responses: 1 Israel will use force to stop settler attacks on Palestinians, says Olmert Responses: 13 More Headlines 07:13 Documents reveal IDF killed wanted Palestinians against court guidelines 07:32 Olmert to Bush: Ensure Obama doesn't press Israel on nuclear issue 07:49 Two Israeli drug smugglers sentenced to death in Thailand 08:00 Olmert: Israel will use force to stop settler attacks on Palestinians 07:24 Olmert, in Washington: Israel-PA peace still possible this year 07:39 Israel to expel 2,000 African refugees who fled to Eilat 08:44 Israel nabs silver in world chess olympiad, its first ever medal 08:52 Study: Only 6% of abuse claims against IDF lead to charges 06:29 Report: Gates to stay on as U.S. defense secretary under Obama 06:23 Fugitive American convicted of pedophilia arrested in Netanya 06:26 VIDEO / Olmert may present plan to secure pension savings 07:45 As Election Day approaches, parties stress economic platforms 06:32 VIDEO / Iran seeks death penalty for 3 accused of spying for Israel 07:41 Four of every five schools in Israel harbor safety hazards 07:38 Missing Ramle woman feared victim of 'honor killings' that took her mother, sister Previous Editions Select Day 25 nov 24 nov 23 nov 21 nov 20 nov 19 nov 18 nov 17 nov 16 nov 14 nov 13 nov 12 nov

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