Israel: Can Tzipi Livni clean up politics?

Good riddance to Ehud Olmert, said Tel Aviv’s Ha’aretz in an editorial. The Israeli prime minister, who resigned this week, has led what may be the worst Israeli government in the history of the country. Olmert inherited the job in 2006, after Ariel Sharon was incapacitated by a stroke, and things quickly went downhill. Olmert’s justice minister tried to undermine the rule of law by limiting the authority of the judiciary. Worse, his defense minister botched a war with Lebanon. Olmert himself failed to advance negotiations with the Palestinians or Syria. His greatest failure, though, was his personal “hedonism and greed.” His own Kadima party forced him to resign because of a long string of alleged crimes, including bribery, fraud, and breach of trust.

Olmert’s successor offers quite a contrast, said Marie Colvin in the London Times. In a primary to choose a party leader to replace Olmert, Kadima voters last week picked Tzipi Livni, Olmert’s foreign minister and a woman with an impressive Israeli pedigree. Livni, 50, is the daughter of two members of the Irgun, the guerrilla group that fought for a Jewish state before the creation of Israel. Yet she is a “fervent advocate of a two-state solution” to the Palestinian conflict. More important, though, Livni is untainted by any allegations of corruption. Her refusal to engage in political mudslinging or curry favor with lobbyists has earned her the nickname “Mrs. Clean.”

“Livni may not be a crook,” said Caroline Glick in The Jerusalem Post, “but she is a fraud.” She pretends to be a servant of the people, yet she was elected in one of the most “anti-democratic” votes Israel has ever seen. Kadima is notoriously corrupt—it has been “subject to multiple criminal investigations” for fudging its membership rolls—and as a top Kadima member, Livni sealed her share of “backroom deals with influence peddlers selling votes.” But her deceit goes beyond politics and extends into policy. As justice minister under Sharon, she lied to the public about when Jews would be evicted from Gaza, assuring us that it would take place slowly, in four stages, but then approving a mass expulsion. And as foreign minister under Olmert, she lied about plans for the partition of Jerusalem, assuring the public that the issue was not part of negotiations with the Palestinians while privately telling supporters that it was. Livni is at heart a leftist. “She doesn’t want the general public to realize how radical she is. So she lies.”

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Livni has a long way to go to convince the nation she is ready to lead, said Ari Shavit in Ha’aretz. “Her victory was not a victory of substance but rather one of image.” Kadima voters essentially elected her on a platform of hope. After the corruption and incompetence of Olmert, Israelis were filled with “longing for good.” Whether Livni can deliver is an open question. She has never had the chance to exhibit statesmanship or even real leadership. “What gives this gamble a chance is Livni’s integrity, modesty, directness, and sense of responsibility.” Livni has six weeks to put together a functioning coalition government. If she can do so, she may succeed “in transforming the hope that she radiates into a real plan of action.”