Day 7 – Let the mudslinging begin
Let the Mudslinging Begin
The 99 Day Blog – Day 7
- When elections were last held in Israel, Facebook was just catching on. Today, most Israelis are very active on Facebook and other social media. How will Netanyahu and his opponents use social media? It’s too soon to know but I’d bet on massive social media campaigns, especially from the left, which is vying for younger voters. Here’s a comparison between the various party websites (in Hebrew) and a related article about how world leaders use Twitter to communicate with their voters, especially post elections.
- Meanwhile, Palestinians hold “elections” in the West Bank (Judea and Samaria) characterized mainly by apathy and low voter turnut.
- A helpful Q&A about the elections can be found here.
- Reports have Netanyahu worried about losing as many as 5 seats to other right wing parties and a reinvigorated Shas.
- The only strategic threat, though, is a consolidated centrist-left party headed by Olmert and Livni. But Olmert would not settle for anything short of premiership. On the one hand a poll released last Thursday gives such a party chances of winning one seat more than Likud. But since this not a sure thing, and since he is apparently in for longer legal battles than he had thought, Olmert’s associates now say he is unlikely to run. This could surely change so stay tuned for more.
- Here are some Polls, as of October 18th. But the next polls will likely show an increase in power for Shas.
- Finally, let the mudslinging begin.