Posts Tagged ‘elections’

Sigh.

It shouldn’t be a surprise to me that the latest election in Israel is essentially a push. Both Kadima and Likud are separated by one vote only and even that one vote is not conclusive. So each party is now talking to its closest large party to form alliances. Which apparently will give us either a total right-wing extreme party led by Netanyahu or a more conservative nationalist party led by Livni.

This is from an ABC news online article:

Nearly everyone seemed to agree on one thing after Israel’s fifth election in a decade — that the nation’s fractious election system isn’t working. Livni, Lieberman, and Defense Minister Ehud Barak of the Labor Party said in post-election speeches that the system, in which votes are splintered among a proliferation of parties, must be changed to allow more stability.

With all of the civilian votes counted, Kadima won 28 seats, Likud 27 and Yisrael Beiteinu 15. Labor, for decades Israel’s ruling party, won just 13 seats. Overall, right-wing and religious parties won a total of 65 seats, compared to 55 for center-left and Arab parties.

I don’t follow the news in Israel every day and I can’t pretend that I can speak with authority on what decisions are made. Far from it. But its pretty clear that with every election over the past 10-15 years or so, there is always a stand off and then some back room negotiating to form a government. I think its time for a change in Israel beyond this election and it starts with how they vote in a new government. It’s too confusing and polarizing from what I can tell.