Israeli elections .. now the gloves are off

Now that Arik is as good as dead, 5 years to the day since he became PM, the gloves are off in Israel. Kadima joined in the mudslinging today , with a new negative campaign mocking Likud chairman and ex Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu.

After Likud and Labor started attacking Kadima, the party released new stickers with the slogans "Bibi is the same Bibi" and "Strong against Hamas: Khaled Mashaal is exploding in laughter." Referencing the abortive and embarrassing assassination attempt in Jordan of the Hamas leader when Bibi was PM. It also negates the Likud sticker "Strong against Hamas: Only the Likud/Netanyahu."

The strategy is to ridicule Netanyahu's failures as PM. When journos asked why they didn’t go after Labor chairman Amir Peretz, a Kadima official responded by saying, "There’s no need, Peretz does the work for us every time he opens his mouth."
Likud officials responded by accusing Kadima of panicking because the Likud is gaining in the polls. They said the negative campaign was proof that Kadima's fall was imminent.

The symbolic 120th slot on the Kadima list will be given to Israel Prize winning molecular biologist Michael Sela, a former president of the Weizmann Institute. Sela, 82, has written more than 800 articles and books.

The list will include candidates that had been considered for the top 50 but were not chosen, along with many top Kadima supporters and mayors in symbolic slots. Sharon will not be on the list because he never signed a form issuing his candidacy, and is not in any state to sign one soon, and because party officials decided that it would be “inappropriate”. It seems it’s only in the US you can elect dead officials.