As the results rolled in on election day there was no surprise jump for Labor; across the country the party polled terribly. In Be’er Sheva in the south the party garnered a paltry seven per cent of the vote. At the other end of the country in Haifa they fared little better with just 13 per cent. In both cities the party came in fourth behind the far right Yisrael Beitenu, a situation mirrored across the country. None of this was unexpected; the party knew they would fare badly. The problem now is dealing with the introspection and working out just what has gone wrong for a party that ruled over Israel for decade after decade since independence in 1948.
The reality is clear; the party has simply had the political ground ripped from beneath it. The Israeli Labor party, the country’s great leftist movement (the country also has the centre left Meretz party as well as still having an active if now peripheral communist party), is no longer defined by its policies. It was after all the Labor party which created and carved out political space for a two-state solution to the Palestinian issue, now a mainstream policy for all but Yisrael Beitenu. It was the party which crystallised the Zionist movement and made it a reality after the declaration of the state of Israel. It led the assimilation of European Jews into the country and was at the helm of government during the 1956 Sinai War, the 1967 Six Day War and the 1973 Yom Kippur War. It is also the party that boasted Moshe Dayan, Golda Meir and Yitzhak Rabin, as well as the current elder statesman of Israeli politics, Shimon Peres. Indeed, Peres typifies the malaise of the Labor party having now defected to Kadima, Israel’s new centrist party.
To tell a brief history of the party is important as it is only by looking back that you can see how far they have fallen. Arguably, since the assassination of Yitzhak Rabin in 1995 the Labor party has been in terminal decline. Rabin was at the heart of the Oslo Agreement which heralded the creation of the Palestinian Authority and the moves towards partial Palestinian control over the West Bank and Gaza, something which cost him his life. Since his death the party has struggled to find any young dynamic or charismatic figures to take it forward. Shimon Peres may well be a monumental figure in Israeli politics but he is neither young nor particularly dynamic. In addition to this the party has witnessed the creation of Kadima, a centre right party led initially under the hugely charismatic and hugely controversial Ariel Sharon. True, Labor does have Ehud Barak a politician and former general who still commands major respect from voters but he is simply not what Israelis are looking for.
As for policy, the party has little to distinguish it from its mainstream rivals, notably Kadima. Supporting peace through diplomatic agreements or pushing for better welfare provision for working class Israelis is ground which is already covered by Kadima and to a lesser extent Likud. Furthermore, one of the reasons Labor has fared so badly in recent years is that economic policy really hasn’t been a political issue. Instead, politics has been dominated by the best way to bring peace with the Palestinians. For Labor this has meant watching Kadima drive the policy of land for peace. There is no policy area at present where Labor can define itself against the major parties without alienating swathes of voters. Instead its inability to come up with definitive polices mean that Israelis essentially see the party as a coalition builder – a party that will simply add capacity and political nous and experience to a Kadima or even Likud government. Like the Liberal Democrats in the UK, the Israeli Labor party is not derided but neither is it seen as a natural party of government.
The party may well see a chink of light after the malaise left by this election. Over a week after the results came in the country still has no clear or strong option for government and Labor may still be able to carve out a pivotal role and prove it can be a strong party in a coalition government. The global economic crisis may yet also play into the hands of Labor. The Israeli economy has been fairly resilient in the past but the outlook is changing rapidly. But perhaps the best option, rather than proving its strength as a party or as a policy making body, is to find from within its ranks a charismatic figure who through strength of personality can reinvigorate the party. Zipi Livni has done a similar job for Kadima post-Olmert and while Barak is respected Labor also needs a change of personality at the top of the party. At present it is old, out of date and insignificant. Where is the Israeli Tony Blair when you need him?