(Yoel Marcus-Haaretz)....We have no idea as to how Livni would have performed as prime minister, yet as the head of the opposition her conduct appears, in the words of one politicians, to be "pareve," neither meat nor milk. Bibi with 12 Knesset seats demonstrated a greater presence and made more noise than Tzipi with her legions in the opposition. A disappointed Livni observer claimed that she makes decisions on her own, while to her right sits Naftali Shpitzer (her husband) and to her left Eyal Arad ("the strategist").
She is dragging her former ministers through hell. We have not even mentioned Shaul Mofaz, who declared open war on her this week by characterizing her as "a nice person to sit down and have a drink with, but she cannot withstand pressure." But without an alternative Mofaz is likely to remain stuck in Kadima.
Even though the public wants Kadima in the government, Livni has not proven that she is a worthy alternative to Bibi. It does not appear that the Kadima legions are fully behind her, and the possibility that seven MKs, with or without Mofaz, could quit the party is not to her credit.
Livni also lashes out at Bibi in the parlance of a Middle Eastern bazaar. "Be a man, leave it alone," or "We have a prime minister who is a chameleon." In his three months in office Bibi has not accumulated a critical mass of hostility that justifies this line of attack.
It is hard to guess how she would have conducted herself had she become prime minister. Yet as leader of the opposition the manner in which she addresses the prime minister is not helping her. Calling Bibi a demagogue and other derogatory terms is better suited to disputes between stall-owners in the shuk than relations between two party heads.
Livni often boasts that she authored the Kadima platform. But where is she now, when Bibi's right-wing government does not want to recognize the two-state principle? What's keeping her from tellingus what she would be doing in Bibi's place? Has she fallen asleep on the job?
She has not commented on the Cairo speech of U.S. President Barack Obama, nor has she reacted publicly to Netanyahu's address at Bar-Ilan University. Is she in favor of continued construction in the settlements, whether of high-rise, low-rise or on the diagonal? With her passivity is she not contributing to the squandering of Sharon's legacy?
As opposition leader, Livni has yet to present herself as an alternative. She is too reliant on marketing gurus. While this may be good for local advertising queen G. Yafit, it certainly is not good for someone who views herself as prime ministerial material.
