Eitan Haber
Photo: Shalom Bar Tal
Kadima’s refugee camp
Does anyone know what Kadima is all about or what it wants to achieve?
It appears that there are not even five people in the State of Israel
today who know what Kadima
is all about, what it wants, and what it aspires it achieve. Kadima says it’s a centrist movement. But what kind of Center are we talking about? How can the views of Tzipi Livni
and Haim Ramon be reconciled? What’s the connection between Knesset Member Eli Aflalo and MK Yitzhak Ben Israel?
None of Kadima’s Knesset members was elected in any kind of elections. The Sharon family and some of their friends chose them. Many of these Knesset members recognized their grim situation in their previous parties, called Kadima, and begged to join. Others were surprised to get a phone call from Ariel Sharon’s people: “Do you want to be a Knesset member?” Only later, they were asked about their political views.
What do they want to achieve? A withdrawal from the Golan Heights, a move that Olmert is being said to promote, or “peace in exchange for peace” with the Syrians, as proposed by Shaul Mofaz?
Under Attack
Attila Somfalvi
Labor chairman continues to slam contenders in ruling party's primary elections, says 'with all the challenges Israel is facing and the decisions which must be made, Kadima would have failed to even set a date for primaries without our interference'
Unprecedented scandal
Kadima’s Knesset list looked like a group of refugees, although some were also talented political leaders. Yet Sharon viewed all of them as a tool to advance his own needs, pawns that would maintain his place as prime minister. And then, sadly, Sharon went into a coma, likely forever.
About 70,000 people joined the ranks of Kadima reportedly. Many of them, and possibly most, have no idea what Kadima is all about. Some of those who are in charge of recruiting new members smell the opportunity to go back to the good old days of the Likud Central Committee – corruption, decay, and the opportunity to transfer some public money into private pockets. Others just got bored in the sleepy Labor party.
Yet ahead of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s expected retirement, the refugee camp is back to life.
And so, 60,000 or 70,000 people will soon decide not only who will be Kadima’s next leader, but also who will be the next prime minister. There are five million registered voters in this country, yet only 60,000 will decide who the next PM is? This is an unprecedented scandal.
And without naming any names, the four candidates who view themselves as Kadima’s leadership contenders would not even dare to dream about making it to the top during the days of former Prime Ministers David Ben-Gurion or Menachem Begin. How shall we put it without insulting anyone? Woe is us for reaching this point.
