Israel's Political Cartel

By Moshe Feiglin

Translated from Moshe Feiglin's article on the NRG website.

Sivan, 5768
June, '08

How could it be that the public does not consider Tzippy Livni corrupt? As of now, she is the most popular alternative to lead the Kadimah party. And the Kadimah party itself is not doing all that badly in the opinion polls. How could it be that the Israeli voter does not recognize the intrinsic corruption of Kadimah? After all, the party was founded by stealing the votes of the Likud voters. Who is more corrupt? A politician who received cash in an envelope or a politician who promises to carry out policies and then takes the votes of the people who believed in him to a different party with a different ideology? Why do envelopes filled with cash shock us while use of our votes to implement ideology opposed to what we believe in doesn't register in our heads as corruption?

The only explanation that I have for this phenomenon is that the public has concluded that there is no real difference between the Likud, Labor and Kadimah. There used to be a clear distinction between the Likud and Labor. In 1981 the Likud had 48 Knesset seats. But ever since then, the Likud has been in a constant process of changing its ideology.

Common political knowledge always held that the majority of votes are in the center. It could be that this was once true. But the Israel Democracy Institute has recently conducted a poll showing that 34% of Israelis now define themselves as being to the right of the Likud while 22% define themselves as extreme Right. In other words, by leaning toward the Center, the Likud has surrendered the ideology that brought it 48 Knesset seats.

Besides the loss of votes, though, the "Centralization" of the Likud has created a much more serious problem. The public has lost hope and no longer differentiates between the large parties. "It's all just a lot of talk," the frustrated Israeli voter says to himself. "In the end they all do the same thing." If these are the rules of the Israeli political game, then Tzippy Livni is not really corrupt. After all, everybody knew when they voted Likud that no matter what happens, they will get one variation or another of leftist ideology. If that is the case, then there is no problem with taking the Likud votes to a different party, as nobody had any ideological expectations of the Likud in the first place.

In effect, the Centralization of the Likud means that while Israelis can still vote for whichever politician they prefer, they cannot choose between different ideologies. Israel is suffering from an ideological cartel. When we vote Left we get Left, and when we vote Right, we get Left or double Left.

The most obvious example of the loss of our democratic right to choose between ideologies is the national unity government. When the Left wins the elections by a miniscule majority, it doesn't even think of bringing the Likud into its governing coalition. But when the Likud wins the elections, it immediately runs to add the Left to its governing ranks. At this point, Bibi has already made it clear that if elected, his Defense Minister would be none other than Ehud Barak.

A national unity government is an ideological cartel, formed to neutralize the voters. In effect, it neutralizes democracy. There are laws against economic cartels. But political cartels promise their members a rosy political future. Not only did the Likud's Centralization rage shrink the party it eliminated Israel's democratic essence.

The first step that must be taken to restore the public's democratic choice is to allow the public to vote for an ideological and not merely personal alternative. If the Likud wants not only to rule but to actually foster a much needed change in Israel, it must return to its original ideological identity.