Hello Mrs. Livni,
You have a rare opportunity. Not every politician gets a chance like this in their lifetime. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity. A chance to return from the political dead. Give up the rotation.
On your own initiative, without pressure, without it being written that Reuven Adler manipulated you and Boogie Herzog was silent and the polls showed, without all that, and on your own initiative that it is right and just, and along the way it will also bring you back from the position of the politician that everyone enjoys speculating about, that the advertising people make sophisticated efforts to hide without it appearing that they are hiding, to the place of a true public servant, who is willing to sacrifice her personal interests for the benefit of something greater than herself.
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From the beginning, this rotation was born in sin.
You can't gamble on the position of prime minister and cut it into pieces. A two-year prime minister is a terrible invention. It's doubtful whether a prime minister, certainly in his first term, can complete complex tasks in four years.
A prime minister who knows in advance that he only has two years is doomed from the start to only chase tomorrow's popularity poll.
What's the point of trying to initiate a dramatic political move, if most of it will happen after he leaves power anyway? What is the level of confidence of someone who closes something with this prime minister that it will come to fruition? The chairman of the Histadrut, a controlling shareholder in a large international company, or a Palestinian leader - would they dare to make major compromises in an agreement with a prime minister who is leaving any second?
I know your argument. The rotation idea, you claim, served as the tiebreaker, causing Herzog to suddenly jump in the polls and become a competition for Netanyahu.
I disagree with you.
What happened was that all the 'Not Bibi' voters were looking for an alternative. It didn't really matter to them what it was called, the main thing was that it had a chance to defeat Netanyahu. The moment you joined Herzog, you did signal to them – this is the place. Even if you had joined without rotation – as the polls at the time proved – the same effect would have happened.
Since then, the rotation has become an electoral burden and, worse, from your perspective, you have become a weight, this piece of cardboard that is forced on those who ordered a pizza from Boogie.
The politician who in the mid-2000s seemed like one of the most businesslike women there is, with one of the most moderate and controlled egos, suddenly appears as a megalomaniac who makes her way to the top through dubious political deals.
We still haven't recovered from the 2013 elections, in which you ran on the ticket that I'm the most anti-Bibi there is, only to be the first to jump into his government in exchange for the position of Minister of Justice.
In those elections, you alone were the one who prevented the possibility of creating an alternative to Netanyahu. By your insistence on forming your own party, by your refusal to join forces with Sheli Yachimovich (she did not agree to a rotation), you created the three-headed structure, which allowed Netanyahu a third term.
Now you have a rare opportunity for correction. True, along the way you will have to throw away a chance to be prime minister for another two years. That is no small matter. Obviously, this is why you will not take up the gauntlet, but it is quite clear that in the political scenarios that are currently emerging, it is highly doubtful that you will be prime minister at the end of these elections, but you will certainly remain one of the most unpopular politicians in the country.
In the past, you honestly admitted that what suddenly transformed you from a fairly unknown receptionist to a candidate for prime minister and one of the most popular politicians in the country was the media, the media that portrayed you as sane, matter-of-fact, someone who works for the good of the cause.
Now just imagine the electric currents you would generate throughout your entire camp, if you suddenly let go of your ego and see that for the greater goal, you are willing to give up your interests.
Think about what a vote of confidence this would be in Herzog's leadership. This could be the decision that separates another Netanyahu term from a turnaround, and it's only in your hands.
•The article was published in Haaretz'
