Israel’s sudden announcement at 2 AM in the morning that the September 4 elections are cancelled and that opposition leader Shaul Mofaz is joining the government was met with both surprise and scorn within Israel. Over 1,000 protesters took to the streets of Tel Aviv to condemn the deal, and new polling data shows that Israelis see it as a cynical attempt by Netanyahu and Mofaz to increase their own power.
Israeli police were quick to crack down on the protest, terming it “illegal” and arresting a number of journalists who were covering the rally near the Likud Party headquarters in central Tel Aviv. Smaller protests were also reported elsewhere in the country, and even top members of Mofaz’s Kadima Party were condemning his “unity first” calls.
So far official comments by the new coalition’s leadership have centered around efforts to expand conscription to all Israeli citizens, and also some pledges by Mofaz of unspecified “electoral reforms,” presumably aimed at keeping his centrist party relevant (early predictions had them losing major numbers of seats in the election that will not happen).
But of course the real question is what impact this will have on Netanyahu’s planned attack on Iran. The September election was seen setting the stage for an October war, but analysts say this might make the war easier still, by making the critics of the planned war, including top former security officials, politically irrelevant.
In a way the partnership brings Kadima full circle. Starting as a slightly more moderate split-off from Likud (led by Ariel Sharon), the coalition move by Mofaz, a former Likud member, effectively folds it back into the Likud family, and will make differentiation even harder when the next election is held in 2013.
I suppose this "new" development is out of the same playbook as the David Cameron…… Nick Who (Cleg) shotgun marriage….. I cannot recall a single word from Clegg since he signed on with "Dave" to continue empire's werk of more and more murder and mayhem…… "In their first joint news conference, David Cameron admits calling Nick Clegg a"joke" In the heat of the British election campaign, a reporter asked David Cameron for his favorite joke. "Nick Clegg," he answered. So what was the fruit of their toul…??? Below is the reality
* Deputy PM: Nick Clegg (Lib Dem)
* Chancellor: George Osborne (Tory)
* Foreign Secretary: William Hague (Tory)
* Home Secretary and Minister for Women and Equality: Theresa May (Tory)
* Defence Secretary: Liam Fox (Tory)
* Health Secretary: Andrew Lansley (Tory)
* Scotland: Danny Alexander (Lib Dem)
* Work and Pensions: Ian Duncan-Smith (Tory)
* Business: Vince Cable (Lib Dem)
* Education: Michael Gove (Tory)
* Energy and Climate Change: Chris Huhne (Lib Dem) TBC
* Communities and Local Government: Eric Pickles (Tory)
* Justice Secretary and Lord Chancellor: Ken Clarke (Tory)
* Attorney General: Dominic Grieve (Tory)
* Chief Whip: Patrick McLoughlin (Tory)
* Chief Sec to Treasury: David Laws (Lib Dem)
There is this………..
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Nick Clegg's e-mail on Libya – and why I tentatively support the international action
This e-mail from Nick Clegg was sent to Party members before the air strikes on Libya began last night but I thought I'd post it anyway.
I am worried about the action and I just hope that it will save and protect lives in Libya. When a leader tells his own people that he's coming to get them and they won't be shown mercy, I do feel that it would be wrong to stand by and just let him commit genocide. It calls for urgent action and the international community has already been dithering for long enough. That's not to say that what we're doing isn't fraught with risk and danger. There could be some very unpleasant consequences if we're not careful. Let's just hope the loss of life is minimal and that Libya, in common with other countries in that region, eventually has a genuine, participative democracy. It's happened across Eastern Europe, something that I as a child thought would be impossible.
To those who say "why Libya and not Bahrain?" I do get what you're saying and I baulked a bit at David Cameron's comments the other day about the King there being willing to consider reforms. He's allowed the Saudis to come in and brutalise his own people and there's no excuse for that and the proposed reforms aren't even baby steps. However, I do accept that he is in a different league from Gaddaffi and there is the possibility of more progress by peaceful means in Bahrain. The Colonel, on the other hand, is now very clearly outside the international tent again and is in a position to embark on all sorts of nastiness beyond his own borders, as he did before. Tony Blair's rapprochement with this character has to be filed away in the already huge file "What were Labour thinking?"
Anyway, here is Nick's e-mail.
Dear Caron,
As you will have seen in the news our coalition government has successfully led efforts in the UN Security Council to agree a ‘no-fly zone’ across Libya.
Colonel Gaddafi’s treatment of his own people has been brutal, savage and wholly unacceptable. We have worked with Libya’s regional neighbours, especially the Arab League, and countries across the globe, to secure a resolution in UN Security Council. This resolution will allow us to act lawfully in deploying our forces to up-hold a ‘no-fly zone’ in Libya.
The Prime Minister gave a statement yesterday, which you can read here. And on Monday we will have a full debate in the House of Commons, followed by a vote. In addition we will be publishing a summary of the legal advice of the Attorney-General.
That is the right approach. This is a coalition government that will act decisively to protect innocent lives and uphold universal human rights. But one which will do so working with, not against, international law and the international community.
Best wishes, [signed in script "Nick Clegg"]
Not knowing much about Israeli politics, I don't know how common it is to cancel elections, but I suppose a coalition means the other side has been bought in and has accepted a lesser position instead of going for the top. But it does make you think that when a country talks about being democratic, well, maybe it isn't. At least Britain admits that their head of state is the Queen, and it is thus a monarchy. But Israel has no such structure, unless they want to crown Netanyahu (I have seen this kind of satirical remark already).
More to the point is Netanyahu's myopic policy towards Iran. On a larger world stage something crucial is being ignored or not dealt with, something international bodies should not be sidetracked from in the hunting of the snark of Iran's nuclear program: a real nuclear powerplant in Japan is dumping massive amounts of radioactive waste into the Pacific, and no one is stopping them. Even the Med and Red Sea will one day be polluted by this dumping. Why don't we deal with realities instead of phantoms for now? If your house is on fire, you don't sit there thinking your neighbor might torch your car do you? Really really hating your neighbor is just counter-productive. The whole world should sit up an pay attention to this brushfire, because it is eventually going to affect everyone in it.
So when is antiwar going to start calling Nettanyahu a strongman? It certainly applies here. Terming protests "illegal", arresting journalists, consolidating power. Seems much worse than anything Putin has done in Russian elections. I always knew Israeli democracy was a sham, I just expected antiwar.com to call it as such.
Uri Avnery writes regularly around here. What else is needed?
All this "jerry rigging" and they still jump up and lecture people about "democracy" and how they are the only one in the ME. Hypocrisy for all to see.
Yes, it IS a sham. Just like the current two-party "choice" we are offered here in America……
War now or war later is no choice at all…..