Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Quick Election Analysis - the morning after


1.      The press is talking about blocs of left-wing and right-wing. They are talking an old language. They don’t understand what happened yesterday. So much of the analysis is so old-hat. Yesterday created a new paradigm – one that I am  excited about
2.      Goldberg (http://www.theatlantic.com/jeffrey-goldberg/) talks about a Knesset with 40% dati MK's. It may be true, but it is not that relevant.
3.      All the world press said this would be the most right-wing rascist government. They were wrong. The center won.
4.      This election was about new politics that overlooks whether you are right or left, dati or hiloni.
5.      Both Bennet and Lapid brought honesty to the table. Israelis said "no" to dirty politics. They want transparency. Lapid and Bennet won because they offered principles which they promise to follow.
6.      Israeli hard-working, Zionist, "social protest" society won yesterday. It said that we want a future for our children. We will work hard, but everyone should serve, pay taxes, and the government should serve its citizens.
7.      Bennet had a secular woman on his list. Yesh Atid has many religious MK's. What matters is whether you follow the mainstream Israeli-Zionist way.
8.      Likud lost support due to not appreciating all this, but also because people didn't want to vote for extremism (if they want right-wingers they can vote for Bennet), nor for criminals, nor for a party that is hijacked by political manipulation. The honest center won yesterday.
9.      The peace issue is on the back-burner. It isn't going anywhere fast, but us Israelis can wait for that. In the meantime we are building our society.
10. And one further thing - new faces. People don't want the same old tired politicians, who lack the solutions to the big questions. People are looking for new ideas, fresh personalities.

Of course... the challenge is in the coalition building and the putting ideas into action. That will bring its own imperfections, as Obama said in his inaugural speech on Monday:


For now decisions are upon us, and we cannot afford delay... We must act, knowing that our work will be imperfect. We must act, knowing that today’s victories will be only partial, and that it will be up to those who stand here in four years, and forty years, and four hundred years hence to advance the timeless spirit once conferred to us...