Election Season in Israel

The presidential race back home was exciting (though rather long) and has dovetailed right into electoral season in Israel. Israel's Prime Minister, Ehud Olmert, has suffered politically from the fallout of Israel's less-than-stellar performance in the Israeli-Hizballah war in 2006, and from the weight of numerous investigations into his alleged corrupt practices. Olmert announced a few months ago that he would step down as premier, which led to a race for the leadership post within his ruling Kadima party. Tzipi Livni, Foreign Minister and political rival of Olmert's, was the front-runner to lead the party but she received a very strong challenge from Transportation Minister Shaul Mofaz, a former Defense Minister. Livni eked out a primary win, but she was not able to form a government (despite her standing as the most popular politician in Israel0 and elections were called for 10 February.

Kadima, a new party formed near the end of 2005 to support then-Prime Minister Sharon when he left the more rightwing Likud Party, is facing its first true national election and probably will find its biggest challenge coming from Likud, headed by former premier Benjamin "Bibi" Netanyahu. Polls are calling it a neck-and-neck race right now, but it seems the next government most likely will lean more rightward than the one we find today.

It is, however, an election, and I'm sure there will be an evolution in the race over the next few months.

In the meantime, Israel had municipal elections this week. I spent a small part of my Veterans' Day holiday checking out the local scene. An aide to one of the government ministers showed a colleague and me around his party's campaign operation and explained how they prepare and monitor results. Like most things in Israel, it was similar to what we find in the US, just smaller. Of note, though, is that each party has its own symbol that it displays on cards. I believe that is what they actually vote with. So, in all the campaign posters you see around town, they all have their little card, reminding you to vote for that party (other than mayoral posts, for which voters directly elect a candidate, Israelis elect a "party slate," which is a list of candidates selected by the party and presented to the voters as a bloc). See the picture for an idea what these cards look like.