Israeli Results

No one needs me to tell them about the Israeli election results, which seem likely to lead to a left-center coalition led by a Kadima knowing that Labor is back even if the Likud has descended into a generalized right-wing chaos. While I'm not on the scene, it wouldn't surprise me if in the Israeli political system, Kadima's status as perceived certain victor worked against it on election day. People who support its agenda may not have bothered to vote, as they likely cared most about the Prime Ministership rather than its largely undefined broader agenda. Meanwhile, people felt freer to vote for a single-issue party like Gil, thinking that weighty war-and-peace issues were pretty much set and thus this would be a time to vent regarding other concerns and try to put them on the agenda.

Labor leaders must have mixed emotions tonight, as while they performed better than expected, if it hadn't been for Gil, Peretz might be biting his nails right now to see if he'd be forming the next government. Likud, meanwhile, probably needs Kadima to collapse if it is to regain major-party status, unless Kadima picks up the secularization banner, which would leave the middle-right religious slot of the spectrum still needing a champion.