Even after the commanding, inspiring and full-of-pathos speech by former prime minister Ehud Barak at the Herzliya Conference, in which he urged the masses to take to the streets holding pitchforks and torches and kick the government out of power in a civil revolution, the streets -- how surprising -- were quiet. Barak's moving call echoed in the air as if it had never been uttered. It seems like there has never been such a dramatic speech, so full of self-importance and still so irrelevant, like the one given by the man whose past relevance has become a distant memory. As for irrelevance, the same can be said for the fact that in one day, no fewer than three people declared their intention of forming new bases to topple the current government: former defense minister Moshe Ya'alon, who announced his intent to run for prime minister; Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid, who hours earlier made that same announcement in a radio interview; and Hatnuah leader Tzipi Livni, who after changing parties four times, announced that she intended to seek an opportunistic escape route via a fifth party. If the trend continues, there will be more candidates for prime minister than voters. The attempts to make political noise have been so fervent this past month that the sense that we are going to be thrown into another election is getting stronger day by day. But that's the biggest possible mistake. What is actually speeding toward us is the Knesset summer recess. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, with his new 66-member coalition, will easily clear the minor hurdles he encounters until the start of the recess, which will continue until after the High Holidays. The election atmosphere, which some delude themselves is already in the air, will dissipate as if it never existed. The speech by Ya'alon indicated how he intends to proceed in politics: outside the Likud, in a new or existing party. After a speech like the one he made, he won't be able to return to the Likud. But the other parties aren't waiting for him with open arms, either -- they might bring him in as No. 2 or 3 on their list, but his declaration that he intends to run as head of a party pretty much limits his options. In any case, it looks like it will be some time before he can fulfill his dream of running in any election.
