There is one good reason for Lieberman’s inclusion. It has everyone from the Labor party leftward, and practically every Arab in the world, nervous about the effect it will have. It has generated fierce opposition among Arab Israelis, among the Labor Party rank and file, and among others on the left of Israel’s political spectrum. It has also drawn the opposition of the European Union’s Middle East envoy, Javier Solana, who has not proven to be a strong friend of Israel to say the least. And it has even attracted the attention of some of Israel’s enemies. Arguably, the worst move for all these people would be to include Lieberman in the Israeli government.
Lieberman is so vilified in those parts because he represents a very strong, no-nonsense political leadership that is almost impossible to find in Israel. He is the kind of person who tells it like he sees it, and then pursues policies to back up how he tells it. He has been hotly pursued by the police in Israel for years, though they have never found anything to pin on him. And he represents a clean form of government that is the fiercest enemy of the typical corrupt politicians of which Israel has much more than its share.
But it seems that Lieberman is probably the worst fit for the Olmert government. Lieberman ran his election campaign this year on the claim that Olmert was not able to fight corruption, defend Israel against its enemies, or bring order to the chaos that is Israel’s government. His campaign of “nyet, nyet, da” drew a tremendous amount of attention, and further installed him as the big anti-corruption candidate. His statements against unilateral withdrawal drew him accolades on the right, even as his suggestion for territorial exchange drew him significant ire.
There is tremendous gain for Olmert in bringing Lieberman into the government. It shores up a coalition that might not have the necessary votes to pass the budget due to Amir Peretz’s inability to enforce party discipline among several first-time MKs in his party. For that reason alone, Peretz supports Lieberman’s inclusion – it gets Peretz off the hook for the budget.
But Lieberman’s inclusion is also a political coup for Olmert himself. Olmert’s popularity has steadily declined since the destruction of the community of Amona in February, and his abject failure in prosecuting this summer’s war has shown Olmert for the inept leader he is. Numerous corruption scandals have further dragged Olmert down in the eyes of the public, and the on-going government investigation into the handling of the war may force his government to fall when all is said and done.
Lieberman provides a large element of legitimacy to a government and a leadership that is increasingly viewed as illegitimate. It provides a cover against claims of corruption, and promising Lieberman a ministry responsible for handling strategic threats removes the feeling that the public cannot trust its leadership in handling military threats.
The question remains, however, why Lieberman is considering joining this government. He has reportedly agreed to take only the one cabinet position, and seems to be abandoning everything his voters thought he believed when they supported him in the election 7 months ago.
What is becoming increasingly apparent is that Lieberman is prepared to accept personal prestige over his political platform or his ideals. In this he is no different than almost any other politician in Israel.
Lieberman’s electoral achievement this past spring was impressive. His electoral downfall in the coming election is now predictable, since it is apparent that Israeli voters can no longer take him at his word – something he had made a hallmark of his political persona since the mid-1990s.
It is a true shame that Avigdor Lieberman has fallen victim to the “sucker” mentality that grips Israeli politics. They say there is one born every minute. But Lieberman’s birth in this regard is a truly disappointing event.
Copyright 2006. All rights reserved. Yehuda Poch is a journalist living in Israel. Reproduction in electronic or print format by permission of the author only.
