"No Bargain"

So, Tzipi Livni has won the Kadima primary, making her the new head of the party, beating runner-up Shaul Mofaz not by the landslide polls had predicted but by a mere 431 votes. But the nation deserves better than her as prime minister. The last time I heard her speak, I walked out because I found her "logic" as to why we must give away our country unbearable. She, too, has lost the Israeli narrative.

~~~~~~~~~~

She is now starting the process of trying to put together a coalition. She has a month to do this(and can request another 15 days beyond this). In some quarters the betting is that she won't be able to do it. It's difficult to call.

If she doesn't, the nation then goes to elections.

There are those -- not just opposition head Netanyahu, but members of Labor as well -- who say elections are imperative now because a primary election in Kadima shouldn't determine who becomes prime minister, our nation must do that.

~~~~~~~~~~

Olmert had said he would resign as prime minister as soon as the new head of Kadima was elected. But he has not yet handed his resignation to President Peres, and there is now some talk of his delaying until after Rosh Hashana -- which would mean October 2. At the moment he is an anomaly -- a prime minister who is not also head of his party. I don't believe this has ever happened in this country before.

Even after he does hand in his resignation, he can remain in office as head of a transitional government until such as we have a new government. What he should do is step aside immediately, declaring that he is unable to fulfill the functions of his office, and allow Deputy Prime Minister Livni to take over the transitional government. But I'm not sure "should" is in his vocabulary.

~~~~~~~~~~

When Mofaz first got the news about how close the vote was, he said he would challenge it. He then pulled back on this and has now announced that he intends to take a rest from political life.

~~~~~~~~~~

Please see my article on the "right of return" from Front Page Magazine:

http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/Read.aspx?GUID=39C3D491-CF5D-4D56-99D2-D252CBAC7EFD

~~~~~~~~~~
see my website www.ArlenefromIsrael.info.