WHILE a spate of stabbings and shootings have unsettled Israel, the country’s Labour Party is going through one of its regular periods of infighting. The party’s constitution specifies that Yitzhak Herzog, having led it to defeat seven months ago, must now submit himself to a leadership contest within 14 months of March’s general election. Mr Herzog gets little credit for having run a close race against Binyamin Netanyahu, whose Likud Party won only six seats more than did the Zionist Union, of which Labour is the main component. In the macho world of Israeli politics, the slight lawyer with a high-pitched voice is, unfairly perhaps, deemed unelectable. Attempts by campaign strategists to boost the image of “Bougie” Herzog, as he is known, by talking up his military career as an intelligence officer (not to mention publishing pictures of him sporting manly stubble) have failed to make up for his lack of natural charisma.
The recent wave of violence between Israelis and Palestinians, to which Labour has yet to articulate a coherent response, has highlighted Mr Herzog’s unsuitability. A survey carried out last week by one polling company found that only 5% of Israelis...Continue reading
Source: Middle East and Africa http://ift.tt/1M57BIg
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