Arik beats Bibi with eyes closed

In Transparency International's most recent Corruption Perception Index, Canada slipped from 12th to 14th with a CPI index of 8.4 out of 10. It is hardly a terrible score, yet the stench of scandal in the wake of Judge Gomery's first report was enough to sink the Liberals on the January 23rd election.

Israel, which just held a general election yesterday, has a CPI score of 6.3. It has fallen to 28th in the rankings, and yet corruption did not end up becoming a major campaign issue. The stakes were higher than the cost of a few dollars in graft. Though social policies were indeed prominent, peace and security issues were the most pressing.

What made this election interesting was the upheaval of the political landscape that led up to the vote. First there was the controversial Gaza Disengagement Plan, pushed through by then-prime minister Ariel (Arik) Sharon. He did this despite objections from his own Likud party. His chief rival in the party, former prime minister Benjamin (Bibi) Netanyahu, resigned from his position as finance minister in protest. By the end of November of last year, Sharon was convinced that he could not advance his agenda as a member of Likud, so he decided to redraw the political map by founding his own party, Kadima, which drew members from both of the traditional parties (Labour on the left and Likud on the right). Less than a month later, Sharon was suddenly and unexpectedly removed from the political scene after he suffered a massive stroke. The final bit of turmoil leading up to the Israeli election came in January with the victory of the terrorist group Hamas in the Palestinian legislative elections, essentially ending any hope for a negotiated settlement.

As such, the choice facing Israelis was essentially narrowed down to either unilateral withdrawals - as favoured by Sharon's brainchild, Kadima, and supported by Labour - or holding on to Greater Israel, at least temporarily - as favoured by Netanyahu's Likud, among others. When the dust settled, it became clear that Israelis chose the former. Even though Ariel Sharon is still lying in a coma, Kadima managed to win the election with 28 out of 120 seats in the Israeli Knesset (parliament), while Labour came in second with 20 seats. The Likud party was dealt a huge blow, winning only 11 seats, which makes it only the fifth largest party in the Knesset.

The people have spoken, but here is the bad news. With the decimation of the Likud, Netanyahu's Thatcherite economic reforms will be off of the government's agenda. If anything, the likely inclusion of Labour into the government coalition will probably mean a complete reversal of the governments economic policies. This is especially worrisome because of Labour's chairman, Amir Peretz, who showed during his time as head of the Histadrut (Israel trade union congress) by frequently calling general strikes on a whim that he is completely irresponsible. The new prime minister, Ehud Olmert of Kadima, will have to keep him on a leash.

Bonus random thought!
Israel is an excellent example of why Canada should not adopt a system of proportional representation. Kadima and Labour, the two biggest parties, do not have enough combined strength to form a stable coalition by themselves. Such is the norm for systems with proportional representation. There are always a mess of small, often one-issue parties who extract concessions from the major parties in exchange for their support in a coalition, thus insuring consistently bloated (and confused) budgets.

Bonus related news item! [Updated 6PM, March 29th, 2006]
Canada takes a stand! The Foreign Affairs Minister, Peter MacKay, announced today that Ottawa is cutting off aid and contacts with the Palestinian Authority, now that Hamas has officially taken power. This is presumably in keeping with Canadian laws against financing terror organizations (Hamas has been blacklisted since 2002). Humanitarian assistance will continue through third-party organizations.