(Yossi verter-Haaretz).The call from opposition leader Tzipi Livni that those responsible step down also serves Netanayhu's interests. The public atmosphere today is not what it was after the Second Lebanon War. Nobody's taking in the streets demanding a commission of inquiry.
In the Haaretz-Dialog public opinion poll published Tuesday, the Netanyahu government received an average grade of "inadequate" for its handling of the country's firefighting services, in line with the State Comptroller's Report. Netanyahu received high grades for his performance during the four days of the fire. Most of the public is prepared to make do with the report from the state comptroller, retired Judge Micha Lindenstrauss, whom most Israelis perceive as a professional and trustworthy judicial authority, and forgo a state commission of inquiry.
The bottom line of the poll (conducted by Professor Camil Fuchs of Tel Aviv University's statistics department ) is that the high level of public satisfaction with Netanyahu, combined with a feeling that the government will know how to draw the appropriate conclusions from the disaster, symbolizes calm on the domestic front. It's the embodiment of the "everything's gonna be all right" and "trust us" culture Israelis are all too familiar with.
