Elections are already over - Mati Tuchfeld

by Mati Tuchfeld

Originally published as "We already had elections"

In the past few weeks, leftist political parties, in conjunction with Yisrael Beytenu leader Avigdor Lieberman and senior media commentators, have been trying to obscure one simple fact -- the people of Israel voted for the Right.

The way the new government was formed was far from an example of how things should be. The coalition negotiations got off to a faltering start and then dragged out endlessly until the last moment, when a gaunt coalition that hangs on one vote came together. And now we have the saga of the delay of the swearing-in of the new government.

Naturally, this has elicited scorn from the opposition parties. That is their right. But there is a big difference between that and the contempt displayed by opposition leaders recently for the intelligence of the Israeli public and the will of the Israeli voter. 

In the past few weeks, leftist political parties, in conjunction with Yisrael Beytenu leader Avigdor Lieberman and senior media commentators, have been trying to obscure one simple fact -- the people of Israel voted for the Right. Herzog and the Zionist Union were rejected by Israeli voters just under two months ago. At a Zionist Union faction meeting on Monday, Herzog claimed repeat elections would cost the country less than the coalition deals that were recently signed. He said that the people of Israel should be asked to decide between the two largest parties. Here is a reminder to Herzog -- there already were elections. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu won.

One would have to have a lot of gall to assert that Herzog could form a government in the current Knesset. Also, what would such a development mean in terms of the will of the people? And what happened to the modesty displayed by opposition party leaders after they learned the results of the elections?

This is not even mentioning the personal responsibility that opposition party leaders are supposed to exhibit. Let's start with Herzog, who failed to draw any new constituencies to the Left. Then there is Yair Lapid, whose Yesh Atid party collapsed from 19 to 11 seats. And finally there is Lieberman, whose party passed the electoral threshold by the skin of its teeth.

While Lieberman will not be prime minister or defense minister, he can comfort himself with the title of head of the media criticism department.

Mati Tuchfeld

Source: http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_opinion.php?id=12543

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