Livni Enters Israeli Election Race with Popular Support
Media Line News Agency
October 29, 2008
Israel´s ruling Qadima Party is expected to win in the upcoming elections, but only by a thin margin, according to new polls. Polls in several Israeli newspapers published on Monday morning indicate Qadima will win over its main rival, the Likud Party, by no more than three seats in the Knesset, the Israeli parliament.
A survey published in the mass-circulation Yediot Aharonot suggests Qadima will win 29 seats, and Likud 26. A poll in the daily Maariv suggests Qadima will get 31 mandates and Likud will gain 29. Both surveys predict the Labor Party will lag behind with 11 mandates.
Israel is heading for general elections in early 2009 after the head of Qadima, Tzipi Livni, failed to create a coalition that would be the basis of a new government. Incumbent Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said he was stepping down in July and did not participate in his party's primary election last month.
Livni, who prevailed in the primary and succeeded Olmert as party head, was given 42 days to put together a coalition government. Her call for early elections, which was formalized in a meeting with Israeli President Shimon Peres on Sunday, came before the statutory deadline.
Livni refused to fall in line with the monetary demands of some of the parties. Also, she rejected the demand of the Shas Party that Jerusalem be taken off the negotiating table with the Palestinians. The status of Jerusalem and whether it will be divided is one of the thorniest issues of the negotiations.
Livni´s critics say her failure to negotiate a deal for a coalition indicates weak leadership and poor decision-making skills. The next parliamentary election was previously scheduled to be held in 2010.
Qadima chairman MK Yoel Hasson is submitting a bill to shorten the preparation time for the elections and effectively speed up the election process. Elections might take place as soon as January 2009.
Due to the Labor Party´s weak performance in the latest polls, some are suggesting the Labor Party run under the same list as Qadima in the upcoming elections. Infrastructure Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer from Labor said in a radio interview he was not ruling out this possibility, on the grounds that the two parties have much in common.
The Knesset´s winter session is beginning on Monday with speeches expected from Olmert, Peres, and head of the opposition Binyamin Netanyahu. The speeches will in fact mark the beginning of the 2009 election campaign.
An early election in Israel means the Bush administration´s goal of achieving an agreement between the Israelis and Palestinians by the end of the year is increasingly unlikely.
A survey published in the mass-circulation Yediot Aharonot suggests Qadima will win 29 seats, and Likud 26. A poll in the daily Maariv suggests Qadima will get 31 mandates and Likud will gain 29. Both surveys predict the Labor Party will lag behind with 11 mandates.
Israel is heading for general elections in early 2009 after the head of Qadima, Tzipi Livni, failed to create a coalition that would be the basis of a new government. Incumbent Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said he was stepping down in July and did not participate in his party's primary election last month.
Livni, who prevailed in the primary and succeeded Olmert as party head, was given 42 days to put together a coalition government. Her call for early elections, which was formalized in a meeting with Israeli President Shimon Peres on Sunday, came before the statutory deadline.
Livni refused to fall in line with the monetary demands of some of the parties. Also, she rejected the demand of the Shas Party that Jerusalem be taken off the negotiating table with the Palestinians. The status of Jerusalem and whether it will be divided is one of the thorniest issues of the negotiations.
Livni´s critics say her failure to negotiate a deal for a coalition indicates weak leadership and poor decision-making skills. The next parliamentary election was previously scheduled to be held in 2010.
Qadima chairman MK Yoel Hasson is submitting a bill to shorten the preparation time for the elections and effectively speed up the election process. Elections might take place as soon as January 2009.
Due to the Labor Party´s weak performance in the latest polls, some are suggesting the Labor Party run under the same list as Qadima in the upcoming elections. Infrastructure Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer from Labor said in a radio interview he was not ruling out this possibility, on the grounds that the two parties have much in common.
The Knesset´s winter session is beginning on Monday with speeches expected from Olmert, Peres, and head of the opposition Binyamin Netanyahu. The speeches will in fact mark the beginning of the 2009 election campaign.
An early election in Israel means the Bush administration´s goal of achieving an agreement between the Israelis and Palestinians by the end of the year is increasingly unlikely.