Israeli Elections: Do They Really Matter?

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Emma Goldman, the Russian anarchist famously quipped that if elections really changed anything, they'd be illegal.

I couldn't help think about Goldman as I contemplate the outcome of Israel's elections. This electoral moment--unlike previous election contests--has a strangely anti-climactic character. These elections came up quickly, there were no debates, they were overshadowed by events in Gaza, a global economic crisis, and possibly by an even more consequential election--Barack Obama's as America's 44th President.

My sense is that the lack of anticipation and breathless build-up to the February 10th election reflects two more important realities. The first is an Israeli leadership deficit widely acknowledged by most Israeli polls. As the founding fathers of the Israeli state part from the scene (the only two left are Sharon who lies in a coma and Shimon Peres, the animated octogenarian President of the country), Israel has been led in recent years by a younger generation of much less experienced and skilled Prime Ministers (Barak, Netanyahu, and Olmert) who have stumbled badly in matters of peace and war.

It is an arguable proposition but it is eminently fair to ask whether any Israeli leader now has the historic legitimacy, moral authority, and power to make the tough choices and overcome the challenges Israel faces on peace and security. Frankly, neither the military nor political strategies pursued by Israel in its two most recent military conflicts (Lebanon, 2006; Gaza, 2008/2009) inspire all that much confidence.

Second, despite the personal and political differences between the two leading candidates--Livni and Netanyahu, the policy approaches (given the problems Israel confronts and the narrow choices flowing from them) don't suggest all that much variance. Indeed the need to forge a stable coalition, not dependent on smaller or larger right-wing parties may well push in the direction of a more centrist unity government based on consensus.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/aaron-david-miller/israeli-elections-do-they_b_164928.html