Kadima's disintegration was entirely foreseeable. This group of people with a handful of shared interests could no longer keep it together the moment those interests played themselves out. Political parties cannot survive without a vision and a clear path. Even the most sophisticated GPS device needs an address to point the way to. Kadima didn't have a vision, and certainly didn't have a clear path. There was only a narrow passage paved with the fleeting perks that come with manning government positions. The legacy of Ariel Sharon, who founded Kadima, and Ehud Olmert and Tzipi Livni after him, was superficial, decadent and devoid of any kind of ideological foundation. It is a legacy of misrepresentation, of moral collapse and of underhanded wheeling and dealing. Now Kadima members are knocking on other parties' doors, like paupers, looking for a savior. The glory has faded. Kadima's "big bang" has proven to be a black hole that has taken Israeli politics to the depths of revulsion. One can only hope that the Likud leadership will be wise enough to accurately read the public's mood the public will that does not get expressed in commissioned polls and will refuse to absorb those lawmakers, who brought shame on the institution of public office, back into the Likud ranks. After years of waiting, the Likud has finally restored its former glory it has no reason to bring back the old crown of thorns. The story of Kadima is living proof of the brilliance of the Kotzker Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel, who lived 200 years ago. According to the rabbi, people walk either on the right or the left of the road, while beasts drag carriages down the center. One can understand when a person is willing to dedicate their lives to left-wing or right-wing ideology, but what kind of people refuse to dedicate themselves to any kind of ideology? People who are too involved in themselves, in their current lives, in narrow-sighted interests and in disturbing escapism these are the people who occupy the center. In Israel, the center can only be found in polls and in the thoughts of frustrated politicians. Most of the public is on the Right of the political spectrum, a large minority can be found on the Left, and only a negligible minority is in the center. That negligible minority includes most of the media, well-known academics and analysts, and trendy Tel Aviv celebrities. This gives the impression of vitality in the center. In my opinion, the vitality in the center is mainly in its nightlife not its politics. Kadima's disintegration is an important nail in the Center's coffin. The citizens of Israel are no longer impressed with weather-vane politicians. Any intelligent person knows that the ultra-Orthodox public cannot be enlisted to the IDF with one swing of the handcuffs. Any intelligent person understands that in the current global economy there cannot be pockets of plenty within an all-encompassing economic crisis, and therefore we too must tighten our belts. Any decent, educated person already understands that since Israel is facing growing threats, there is no other option but to boost our security system. Therefore, the demagoguery that characterized Kadima's knights, who offered quick-fix solutions, is now making its way into Israeli politics' recycling bin, and not a minute too soon.
Kadima's weather-vane politicians
מערכת ישראל היום
מערכת "ישראל היום“ מפיקה ומעדכנת תכנים חדשותיים, מבזקים ופרשנויות לאורך כל שעות היממה. התוכן נערך בקפדנות, נבדק עובדתית ומוגש לציבור מתוך האמונה שהקוראים ראויים לעיתונות טובה יותר - אמינה, אובייקטיבית ועניינית.
