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Honey is Sweet

Elections - 2008-10-30

I'm grateful for: the sun coming out; green in the back yard; responsible teenagers.

TH mailed off the absentee ballots today, along with something else which provoked a bit of an altercation. What the heck, I have voted. I was having a few doubts, as we are awfully close to the election - and it cost more than I want think about to get those ballots posted to get to the states in time. Still... if I were going to miss an election, this is not the one I would pick. However it turns out was sure an interesting election, and bits will be repeated in amusing stories for years, I am sure.

I feel like relating how we ended up with a leader for whom no one in the country ever cast a single vote - we'll see if children, pets, guests and TH will allow me to tell this one. I always laugh when someone starts in about how 'Bush stole the election.' At least SOME people voted for him!

In Israel, we don't vote for a person, we vote for a party. Various parties put together slates of candidates, the leader of the party or the person in the top slot of the party that gets the most votes (they have to get at least 40% of the vote ((I may be off a few percentage points, but it's about that)) ) becomes the prime minister. The parties know before the election already who their top dude is (occasionally a female, but very rarely), and it is his face and name that go on the posters, but what they tell you is to vote for Labour, or Likud, or the Pensioners, Hamash, NRP/NU, United Arab List, &tc. We have a lot of parties. We vote for the party.

Our current (lame duck) prime minister is Ehud Olm*rt, who was the leader of the Kadima party. The Kadima party is not on the previous list because, as of the last proper election, there was no Kadima party. The party that won the largest number of votes was Likud, whose top man was Ariel Shar*n.

So, Shar*n became prime minister. Shar*n wasn't happy for some reason with being prime minister and the leader of the Likud, so he decided to form a new political party. We voted for Likud, not for Shar*n, but when he formed his new party, called Kadima, he somehow remained prime minister and this new party became the leader of the gub'ment. With me so far? Good, I'm not sure I'm not lagging behind a bit myself. So. Shar*n, prime minister and leader of a party that nobody ever voted for suffers a stroke. If he is permanently disabled, then there must be new elections. There's a hundred day period that is given for the prime minister to recover to take back the reins of the gub'ment. Do I know why? I doubt if much of anyone does. Despite the fact that the prime minister has clearly entered a permanently vegetative state, or if not is NOT going to be fit to take over the reins of the gub'ment within the 100 days, the dr.s refuse to officially state that he is (I mean clearly) not going to be fit to govern within the 100 days. As long as the dr.s refrain from making such a statement, Kadima continues to lead the country, and the second-in-command of Kadima is our friend, Ehud Olm*rt.

Questions are asked, publickly and privately, regarding whether it oughtn't to be the second-in-command of Likud (the elected party) that holds the reins of gub'ment while the dr.s are 'waiting to see' if Shar*n will recover enough to come back to work. Somehow nothing comes of that. Nothing comes of the calls for new elections, nothing comes of the questions asked whether or not Kadima ought, within itself to hold an election to determine if Olm*rt ought indeed to BE second-in-command.

The 100 days pass. The dr.s no long pretend to hide the fact that Shar*n is never going to be fit to run a country again. Again questions are floated, elections are suggested, does any of this happen? No.

Now, after a disastrous couple of years, Olm*rt and Kadima are utterly rout. They have no approval rating to speak of (single digits). Politicos who jumped ship from Labour and Likud to join the new party are now streaming from Kadima like rats from a sinking ship. Olm*rt has finally, after five (5!) criminal investigations, been induced to hand in his resignation. But does that change anything? No. He is still acting as prime minister. He is out there, talking to our enemies, offering them pieces of our country that were NEVER IN DISPUTE, saying he has a right to do so because the country voted for the policies that he stands for.

I mean, good heavens! But, this is Israel. Stranger things will happen here before I am much older... *sigh*

I hope we survive this one.

In any event, having now voted in the U.S. election, perhaps more important although to less effect, now we are finally having elections, so we can have a genuinely elected leading party and prime minister for the first time in, what is it, three years? I've lost track, it sure feels like forever. I'm not sure there will be a Kadima party in this election, either. It's looking a tiny bit doubtful, but I have begun to have faith in the longevity of both Kadima and Olm*rt. Somehow it feels they will always be with us.

I wonder... if Olm*rt is actually sent to prison for crimes committed - will he finally cease to 'run' the country? I can but hope.

It's a fascinating world, and I get to participate in the political activities of two fascinating countries, filled with many fascinating people. Am I lucky, or what?

I'm listening to Bobby Vinton: Blue Velvet

0 bleats so far

:: Yesterdays : Tomorrows ::

~~~Last Five Entries~~~
Hi and goodbye - 2010-10-15
I'll be moving on - 2010-10-10
Gold membership and stuff - 2010-10-10
Decisions, decisions - 2010-10-07
Days to go - 2010-10-06