Is Olmert Losing Control of His Govt?

Remember when Ronald Regan ran for President of the US. He won the country over when, during a debate, he looked straight into the camera and asked "are you better off than you were four years ago ?" Many pundants truly believe it was that honest question that elected him President.

When Echud Olmert took over as Prime Minister last year many Israelis were very hopeful, that he would be able to make their lives better. Israel’s standing in the world was riding a wave of good feeling. The economy especially the tech sector was booming. And by electing a middle of the road candidate the country was hopeful of good times ahead. Unfortunately the result has been quite the opposite.

This past summer he lead Israel into a war that he did not have the guts to finish. Both he and his defense minister have no military experience but they refuse to listen to their military men. Olmert's lack of leadership and indecisiveness has given the terrorist groups Hamas and Hezbollah the renewed confidence in Israel's vulnerability. Hezbollah continues to rearm right under his nose; Hamas is sending rockets into the Negev with reckless abandon. The world sees a leaderless Israel and is doing its best to push the nation into a one-sided "peace" deal.

Now it seems that things are getting even worse, Olmert is loosing control of his government. They are acting without authority and fighting amongst each other.

• His Foreign Minister decided to publicly undercut the UN Ambassador in public, his crime? Telling the truth about France.

• On Shabbos his newest cabinet minister, Avigdor Lieberman, decides that he is foreign minister by announcing that Israel should ignore Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, wipe out the Hamas leadership and walk away from the U.S.-backed ‘roadmap’ peace plan

• Yesterday his Defense Minister Mr. Peretz, decided to stop being the country' s number one advocate AGAINST tzedaka and also try on the Foreign Ministry portfolio. He picked up the phone to shoot the breeze with Palestinian President Abbas.

The JPost reported today that:

Members of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee called on Monday for the resignation of Defense Minster Amir Peretz. The demand followed Sunday's telephone conversation between Peretz and Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, in which the defense minister urged Abbas to exercise his authority and do everything possible to stop Kassam rocket attacks against Israel.
Meretz Chairman Yossi Beilin said that Peretz's "flame had died," and that he never tried any new tactics.
Beilin also called for the government to disband. "On Saturday, one of [Olmert's] ministers says that we must eliminate the Hamas leadership and that Abbas is no longer relevant, and on Monday a different minister says that he spoke to the PA chairman and requested a cease-fire. There is no policy and no methodology."
MK Danny Naveh (Likud) reacted cynically to the Peretz-Abbas conversation, saying that the meeting should be cut short since "any minute, Peretz will get a phone call from Abbas." He added that Israel's security was disintegrating and that Hamas and Hizbullah were getting stronger.
Naveh's fellow Likud MK, Yuval Steinitz, said that Peretz should have resigned long ago with the rest of the government. "Instead of proposing solutions he is pleading with Abbas," he said. Steinitz called on the IDF to embark on an operation similar to Operation Defensive Shield.
MK Effi Eitam (NU-NRP) turned to Peretz during the meeting and exclaimed: "You and the chief of staff must resign immediately! You are both preventing the IDF from renewing itself." He went on say that the IDF soldiers had lost their faith in the two "because of the Second Lebanon War and your lack of ability in dealing with Kassam rocket attacks."

To be honest, I think that the Knesset members got it wrong. They should be calling on PM Olmert to resign and end his ineffectual leadership that has put Israel in so much danger. I bet if he resigns we can arrange for him and his family a free trip to Eilat.