Netanyahu Sworn In, Israelis Dissatisfied
Speak up: Bejamin Netanyahu, sworn in as prime minister for the second time today, may not have been listening too closely to Ehud Olmert, the man he succeeded, and who, the previous week, called him a dogmatic scoundrel.
Even George W. Bush, who was inaugurated president in 2001 after losing the popular vote, brawling through a bitter recount and getting a dubious assist from the Supreme Court didn;t have it that bad in his first days, when he enjoyed a 53% approval rating.
No so Benjamin Benjamin Netanyahu, who was sworn in as Israel's prime minister today, for the second time in 10 years, and as Israel got its 32nd government in 60 years. A Haaretz poll finds that less than a third of the public approves of the new government, while 54% is dissatisfied, calling it "bloated, convoluted and unprepared to deal with Israel's many problems." So much for a honeymoon.
Can you blame the Israeli public? According to Haaretz, it believes "that two of the cabinet's senior ministers are not suited for their jobs. Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman received the support of only a quarter of participants in the survey. Most believe that Lieberman should not represent Israel abroad. Finance Minister Steinitz received 22 percent in his favor, compared with 27 percent against."
Lieberman is, as they'd say in Brooklyn (or in Tel Aviv's Brooklynish neighborhoods), a piece of work--a racist who advocates oaths of allegiance (as a way to discriminate against Arabs) and who's advocated brutal solutions against Palestinian violence, including the execution of Hamas sympathizers and the indiscriminate bombing of civilian Palestinian centers in retaliation for suicide attacks. He will now be the face of Israel in the world.
"Ironically," Haaretz reports, Ehud Barak, "at least for now, is the most popular minister in the government. He is the public-relations asset that Tzipi Livni was in Ehud Olmert's government. Clearly Netanyahu knew what he was doing when he went out of his way to give senior jobs to top Labor [members of the Knesset] so they would join the coalition."
Netanyahu has never made a secret of his distaste for the "peace process," around which his sneering references seem to create disparaging quotes. But he promised to try. Will it be more than lip service?
The challenges are endless: Hamas in Gaza. West Bank settlements. Hezbollah in Lebanon. The still-occupied Golan heights. A more radicalized Arab world, and more polarized Israeli public. No breakthrough Palestinian leadership to speak of. What are his options to make good on the promise? Here's your chance to give suggestions.
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