Labor Party chairwoman MK Shelly Yachimovich is now leader of the opposition after Kadima chairman MK Shaul Mofaz reached a deal with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to join the government. In response to Netanyahu and Mofaz's joint press conference, she said, "Their stance was sure, their words were determined, but did you believe even one word they said? Is everything empty of content? This deal won't ever be forgotten. It will come down on the heads of the men who built it. It is an ongoing and sweeping fraud."
Yachimovich added, "Politics is a marvelous tool for realizing a world view. Democracy is a first-rate tool, when every few years, people go to the polls and express their opinion. That is what is great about democracy. For democracy to exist, a political system is necessary - but here politics is expressed only in a populist way, and those who hold it, hold it for the sake of survival. As a rule, students, this is the full exercise of the will of the majority and of democratic values. What shall we tell our youth, those who should participate in shaping the country's future and be counted?
"Can and should anyone believe one word out of Mofaz's mouth? This political system is devastating to democracy. The Kadima corpse is going to create destructive policies that go against the voices we heard last summer. The 2013 budget is going to be bitter and hasty. It will be a capitalist budget that will widen the gaps in Israel. And who is doing it? The man declared that he would lead this summer's social protest. From where? Netanyahu's office? There is no limit to the dissonance between word and deed."
Yachimovich said, "It has become clear to us that we are the only alternative to Netanyahu, because the people who should have been the alternative rushed to him without basic conditions. The people who didn’t want Labor to win 20 Knesset seats will see it win many more when this term is over. I call on everyone who is disgusted by these acts to come and be counted in a Labor Party led by me."
Yacimovich lambasted Mofaz, saying, "There is nothing like Mofaz's remarks to highlight the deal. At the press conference, Mofaz accused me of seeking a deal with Netanyahu, when he knew that I had not spoken with him, and he is the man who made a deal. Liars are usually caught by their shame. I saw no shame here. Mofaz's act crossed the line in terms of lost shame. The job of the opposition is to offer an alternative way, and to sit in opposition if necessary. It is no shame, it is not Siberia; it is a great honor. It is possible to serve the nation from the opposition."
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on May 8, 2012
© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2012