Barak's decision to resign and call elections within two months will spare the country a prolonged election campaign that neither politicians nor the public really wanted. Still, his move was widely seen as a political scheme to improve his sagging chances of re-election by heading off a challenge from Netanyahu, whom he defeated in May 1999. Under Israeli law, candidates for prime minister following Barak's resignation must be current Knesset members, which excludes Netanyahu. Netanyahu received preliminary approval to have the law changed so he can run. Since Barak's resignation, pundits and politicians have endlessly analyzed possible scenarios, alienating a public desperate for anyone who can offer hope of an exit from the conflict with the Palestinians.
Nobody has illusions that new elections are the answer.
I voted for Bibi. I voted for Barak. Perhaps if President Clinton has nothing better to do, he can come and help us. The despondency is not limited to Israelis in the political center, many of which put their faith in Netanyahu in the 1996 elections, then in Barak last year. Because of the regional unrest, however, his sales have plummeted 25 percent in recent weeks.