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Opinion Herzog history repeats itself: the president intends to break the political tie Israel today

2022-08-18T18:48:21.400Z


In 75 days, President Yitzhak Herzog will encounter the political reality familiar to him from his father's house • Loyal to the family legacy, he intends to stop the political paralysis and establish a stable government for Israel • Netanyahu knows that his future lies with the voters of Shaked


1984, George Orwell's famous book, described an apocalyptic reality that was expected to happen sometime 38 years ago.

In Israel, 1984 was actually a positive turning point.

Elections that ended in a tie resulted in the establishment of a unity government between the Likud and Labor.

She was one of the most successful in the country's history.

Two main players then forced the joint government on Yitzhak Shamir and Shimon Peres.

Chairman of the "Together" party, former air force commander, Ezer Weizman (we will return to his counterpart today), and who was then the country's president, Haim Herzog.

Herzog on a historic visit: "Hatikva" is played in Erdogan's palace // Photo: Leam

Four decades later, his son, Yitzhak Herzog, sits in the president's chair, a man whose ancestral heritage runs through his veins, and who from birth breathes the political being.

The grandfather of the president, after whom he was named, was the first chief rabbi.

His uncle was the mythical foreign minister, Abba Even.

His father was the number one communicator with the public in the Six Day War and of course ambassador to the United Nations. His brother, Mike, is currently ambassador to the USA.

He himself has been politically active since the late 1990s, and among other things served as chairman of the Labor Party, minister of welfare and chairman of the Jewish Agency.

In 75 days, Herzog will probably find himself, exactly in front of the same impasse that was put before his father.

A political tie, that our era paralyzes the system for three years and four rounds.

As things stand now, the torch block has no majority, and is very far from a blocking block.

The Netanyahu Bloc scrapes the 60th but does not reach the 61st.

Currently, only a miracle will save Israel from six elections.

Or rather a miracle, and presidential determination.

Lapid has no majority, Netanyahu scrapes the 61.

Lapid - Netanyahu meeting, photo: Haim Tzach, PM

Two characteristics accompany Herzog throughout his years.

Hard work and connections.

With them, he has a clear intention, not to allow politicians to shake the country for another unnecessary round at the ballot box.

In fact, even 61 mandates in the president's opinion are not enough to manage a solid coalition.

The country needs stability, he believes, and that is achieved with a government with a solid majority.

What and how Herzog will do, it is still too early to tell.

Everything depends, of course, on the results of the truth and the political connections that can be made with them.

What is certain is that, unlike his predecessor Rivlin who mostly whined, Herzog will follow the path outlined by his father.

He will demand that the elected officials close the kindergarten and behave like adults, and will do everything to prevent further elections.

In his first year in office, Herzog demonstrated impressive performance on the political level, and in fact became the number one exporter and importer in the world.

If it weren't for him, the reconciliation with Turkey would not have happened and the confrontation with Russia would have leaped to frightening intensities.

He sewed, soothed, closed ends and moved who was needed where needed.

The big test awaits him after the seventh day of Sheshvan, a day when according to the Jewish tradition - to which he is connected - they begin to pray for rain.

Herzog will try very hard to make these rains of blessing.

Netanyahu knows that his fate lies with the voters of Ayelet Shaked

If we continue the comparison with 1984, then Ayelet Shaked is now in the position that Ezer Weizman held then.

Libra tongue.

The trouble is that the rules of the game.

Weizmann could enter the Knesset with only two mandates and decide destinies.

Shaked, even with Handel and Hauser, maybe reaches two, but not four.

Whether she retires, or whether she runs to the end, she has the power to decide the election.

Because the two or so mandates she represents are swinging in the air, they don't like Netanyahu, but they don't despise him either, they don't associate with Smotrich, but they don't want to vote left either.

We are talking about those secular right-wingers who voted for Bennett and did not return to Likud, or about liberal religious people, from Gush Etzion, Modi'in, Givat Shmuel and so on.

Reserving Shaked in Likud is out of the question.

Shaked and Netanyahu, photo: Oren Ben Hakon

Netanyahu is racking his brain these days on how to reach them.

In the current elections, for the first time since the outbreak of the crisis in 2019, he is moderate and stately, emphasizes the value of stability, and hides the loud members of the Knesset in the closet.

But doing evil is not enough, you also need to do good.

Will Sillman bring the undecided?

probably not.

Are you alone?

Not attractive enough.

Armored scales?

Maybe, but what about women and other commitments?

Retaining Shaked and Handel in Likud is of course out of the question.

The hatred is too abysmal.

So in the meantime Likud is trying to erase them.

And yet, Netanyahu needs to land the "floating votes", as they were once called, in his camp.

Without them, he has no government.

Shaked's word may have a great effect on which direction they will go.

Bibi and Trump are in the same league

Just as Netanyahu is very popular, but only scratches the bar and does not bypass it, so does his American counterpart, Donald Trump.

The former president manages to destroy all his opponents from the camp battle, but the domestic battles may deny him the great victory.

This week, just as Netanyahu eliminated Bennett, so Trump effectively removed from Congress his most vocal opponent among the Republicans, Liz Cheney.

But the loser, the daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney, did not give up and told her supporters that "the hard work is just beginning."

Cheney represents a growing group of top Republicans who disapprove of Trump.

It includes White House employees who testified against him in the Congressional Invasion Investigative Committee.

The latest rumors in Washington say that even former Vice President Mike Pence and Trump's chief of staff, Mark Meadows, intend to cooperate with the committee.

Pence has been distancing himself from Trump for a long time.

destroys all his opponents.

Donald Trump, photo: Reuters

The abandonment of Trump by Republican officials, just like the opposition of former Likud officials to Netanyahu, has almost no effect on the general public.

I mean, those who supported Trump don't care what Pence or Cheney say.

It doesn't matter to his opponents anyway.

There are over two years until the presidential elections and, officially, Trump has not yet announced his candidacy.

His opponents from home are also still calculating their steps.

It is hard to believe that they will be able to run a candidate on their behalf.

But, like Gideon Sa'ar and Ze'ev Elkin, they may deny Trump the victory.

When the war is about a few percent, it is not enough to control the camp, the challenge is to bring in the dissenters.

As already written on the shirt prints: "America don't worry, Israel is behind you".

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Source: israelhayom

All news articles on 2022-08-18

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