War may force delay of election

ISRAELI POLITICS : One issue will dominate an election campaign: the conduct of the war and its outcome, writes Mark Weiss

ISRAELI POLITICS: One issue will dominate an election campaign: the conduct of the war and its outcome, writes Mark Weiss

THE DECISION of both Hamas and the Israeli government to ignore the UN Security Council ceasefire resolution is likely to increase the calls in Israel to delay the elections, now only a month away.

The parties suspended electioneering at the outset of the military campaign.

With 900,000 residents in the south of Israel in range of Hamas rockets, the idea of holding an election if the war continues for another month is out of the question.

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But, even if the military campaign ends before the February 10th, which is likely, there will be little time to conduct a proper election campaign.

One issue will dominate: the conduct of the war and its outcome.

Parties stressing economic, social or green issues will be at a distinct disadvantage, as will the new and smaller parties.

Media attention, as long as the war continues, is likely to focus on the three main players: outgoing prime minister Ehud Olmert; defence minister Ehud Barak, who is also leader of the Labour party; and foreign minister Tzipi Livni, the leader of the Kadima party.

The leaders of the four main parties have all spoken against postponing the election.

Mr Netanyahu argued that the vote must not be delayed.

"It would be a victory for Hamas if they succeed in interfering with Israeli democracy."

The only time an election has been delayed in the past was in 1973, because of the Yom Kippur Arab-Israeli war.

On Thursday, the legal adviser to the Knesset parliament ruled that a two-thirds majority of the 120-member house would be required for a postponement.

To date the only party leader to call publicly for a delay is pensioners affairs minister, Rafi Eitan, the leader of the Pensioners party.

Other politicians who have been quoted anonymously as supporting a delay, are reluctant to do so publicly. They fear appearing to be attempting to gain politically from the war.

Sever Plocker, a commentator for Israel's biggest-selling paper, Yediot Aharonot, thinks most Israelis would back a postponement. The outcome of the war will shape not only Israel's relations with the Palestinians, but also the balance of forces between extremists and moderates in the region, Plocker argued.

"Therefore, Israel must pursue the current campaign with full awareness and alertness, without fateful decisions being tainted by the mud of a political campaign and judged through the prism of elections," Plocker wrote.