Sunday, May 27, 2007

Italy's Politics Challenging: Israeli Politics is "Comeback" and Skeptical

The ANNOTICO Report

 

There are many commentators world wide who do not understand that the many changes in Italian Governments is often little more than a changing of a few portfolios, and a slight  change of political course, much more preferable than the drastic changes that take place with a change in the president as occurs in the USA.

 

But here is a look at the state of Politics in Israel.

 

In Israeli: In politics, as in religion, this is a land of exile and return. In Israel's politics: the same faces keep reappearing, like the spring-loaded figures in the children's toy that get hammered into a hole but pop up again.

Menachem Begin and Yitzhak Rabin suffered stinging defeats in their careers yet managed to claw their way back to the top. Ariel Sharon  was accused of allowing the massacre of Palestinian refugees in the 1982 war in Lebanon, dismissed as defense minister and banned for life from serving in that post; his revenge was to become prime minister nearly 20 years later.Ehud Barak, the former prime minister who was routed from office six years ago, is making a bid to take over Israel's Labor Party once again.

And don't count out former PM Benjamin Netanyahu, whom angry voters ejected from office in 1999, and the ever-present Shimon Peres, who at 83 has occupied or orbited the center of power for longer than most Israelis have been alive.

Life at the very top in Israeli politics often seems like a game of musical chairs: namely, a shrinking talent pool of potential leaders, the result of an increasingly sour public view of politics and politicians that discourages intelligent, well-qualified people from entering the field.

"Young Israelis go into industry, they go into the arts, they go overseas. But they don't go into politics" "Israeli politics has been so discredited that there is a dearth of new leaders."

Public service has lost much of its sheen, experts say, because much of the public feels it's not being served.

When Israelis look back on the last 40 years, many see a succession of governments that failed to solve some of the burning questions of the day, the foremost being the conflict with the Palestinians.

At the same time, sex and corruption scandals have tarnished the image of officeholders, especially in recent years. Sharon and his sons were dogged by a corruption inquiry. Within the last nine months, Israel's ceremonial president and justice minister were forced to step down, because of allegations of sexual misconduct. . "Politicians in Israel are crucified, all of them, sooner or later."

The dearth of new blood in the last 15 to 20 years, had made it easier for old hands to revive moribund careers.

In addition, seven devastating years of Palestinian suicide bombings and another war in Lebanon, this one against Hezbollah militants, have brought an atmosphere of deep insecurity in which party members and ordinary voters seem more willing to recycle old leaders with strong credentials than to turn to the new and untried.

 

Barak Back in Israel's Political Fray

The former prime minister, routed from office six years ago, is a serious contender for the leadership of the Labor Party.

 

Los Angeles Times

By Henry Chu, Times Staff Writer
May 27, 2007

 

JERUSALEM  Look who's back.

Ehud Barak, the former prime minister who was routed from office six years ago, is making a bid to take over Israel's Labor Party once again. After fading from public life to dabble in business, Barak has hit the comeback trail, convinced he can come to Israel's rescue.

He faces stiff competition in Monday's party primary. Many Israelis still revile him either as the waffler who failed to close a deal with Yasser Arafat on a Palestinian state or the stooge who gave away too much.

But the fact that Barak is a serious contender for the Labor leadership illustrates a truism of Israeli life: In politics, as in religion, this is a land of exile and return.

Survey Israel's political landscape of the last few decades and the same faces keep reappearing, like the spring-loaded figures in the children's toy that get hammered into a hole but pop up again.

Celebrated leaders such as Menachem Begin and Yitzhak Rabin suffered stinging defeats in their careers yet managed to claw their way back to the top. Ariel Sharon was accused of allowing the massacre of Palestinian refugees in the 1982 war in Lebanon, dismissed as defense minister and banned for life from serving in that post; his revenge was to become prime minister nearly 20 years later.

Now, with the government of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert tottering because of his performance in last year's war in Lebanon (some of the same theaters of conflict make encore appearances as well), three of the leading candidates to replace him are men who have held the job and been bounced out.

"Israel is a comeback country," said Amnon Rubinstein, a political commentator and former politician himself.

Besides Barak, there is Likud Party leader Benjamin Netanyahu, whom angry voters ejected from office in 1999, and the ever-present Shimon Peres, who at 83 has occupied or orbited the center of power for longer than m ost Israelis have been alive.

The political situation here is in stark contrast to that in the United States, where presidents exit the scene almost never to return. As many American schoolchildren learn, only Grover Cleveland, in the 19th century, managed to serve nonconsecutive terms in the White House.

In Israel, the comeback prowess of politicians is due in part to the country's parliamentary and party systems, which operate differently from American presidential politics. Here, even leaders who stumble badly can hold on to power within their parties by tapping the support of loyalists and junior officials they've taken under their wing.

But analysts also identify a more worrisome reason that life at the very top often seems like a game of musical chairs: namely, a shrinking talent pool of potential leaders, the result of an increasingly sour public view of politics and politicians that discourages intelligent, well-qualified people from entering the field.

"Young Israelis go into industry, they go into the arts, they go overseas. But they don't go into politics," Rubinstein said. "Israeli politics has been so discredited that there is a dearth of new leaders."

Public service has lost much of its sheen, experts say, because much of the public feels it's not being served.

When Israelis look back on the last 40 years, many see a succession of governments that failed to solve some of the burning questions of the day, the foremost being the conflict with the Palestinians.

At the same time, sex and corruption scandals have tarnished the image of officeholders, especially in recent years. Sharon and his sons were dogged by a corruption inquiry that regularly made headlines. Within the last nine months, Israel's ceremonial president and justice minister were forced to step down, at least temporarily, because of allegations of sexual misconduct.

The scrutiny and scathing media coverage can b e a strong disincentive to newcomers.

"The rewards of becoming a politician in Israel definitely don't overcome the disadvantages," said Abraham Diskin, a political scientist at Hebrew University. "Politicians in Israel are crucified, all of them, sooner or later."

Yoram Peri, an expert on politics and the media at Tel Aviv University, said that the dearth of new blood in the last 15 to 20 years, with a few exceptions, had made it easier for old hands such as Netanyahu and Barak to revive moribund careers.

In addition, seven devastating years of Palestinian suicide bombings and another war in Lebanon, this one against Hezbollah militants, have brought an atmosphere of deep insecurity in which party members and ordinary voters seem more willing to recycle old leaders with strong credentials than to turn to the new and untried.

Sharon and Barak first made their names in the Israeli military as war heroes. Netanyahu, though not so decorated, sticks to a hard line on relations with the Palestinians.

By contrast, neither Olmert nor Amir Peretz, the defense minister and current Labor Party leader, can boast of much military experience, and an official inquiry recently rebuked them for poor decision-making in last summer's 34-day conflict with Hezbollah. The veteran politicos now look good by comparison, analysts say.

"The devil you know is better than the devil that you don't know," said Gideon Doron, a professor of political science at Tel Aviv University. "We know Mr. Barak; we know Mr. Netanyahu. We are willing to gamble on them, knowing if we gamble on someone who's new  Olmert or Mr. Peretz  we are going to pay a much dearer price."

Barak, 65, launched his Labor campaign in January, in a letter acknowledging "my share of mistakes and my inexperience" during his previous tenure.

Current polls indicate that he is likely to force a runoff with rival Ami Ayalon, but probably would lose in th e second round. Although Ayalon is a political newcomer, he is no stranger to the public or to security issues, having served as the head of Shin Bet, Israel's domestic intelligence agency.

If Barak captures the Labor leadership and Olmert's government falls, the race for prime minister probably would pit him against Netanyahu, 57, who has managed to rehabilitate his career after a series of scandals that hit his premiership.

(Peres says he is now interested in being president rather than prime minister, but characteristically, the octogenarian is not ruling anything out. "Shimon Peres plans to become prime minister in 2050 or something like that," said Diskin, the Hebrew University professor.)

A Barak-Netanyahu matchup would cause a serious outbreak of deja vu in Israel: The two men ran against each other in 1999.

Barak won that battle, but things have changed in eight years. Only the faces haven't.

 

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