The task ahead for newly elected Kadima party leader Tzipi Livni is to form a working coalition government – never easy given the fractious Israeli political scene.
But that’s not the even biggest challenge facing Livni, Â writes Samuel Segev in the Winnipeg Free Press: “A new Israeli government also will have to deal with the growing influence of Hezbollah in Lebanon, Hamas in the Gaza Strip and, of course, Iran’s nuclear ambitions now that an American ‘military option’ is practically non-existent. ”
Plus there’s the rising influence of Russia, and perhaps “a new, informal regional alliance for peace and prosperity.”
Read “Forming coalition government least of Livni’s difficulties” here »
In the Calgary Herald, Naomi Lakritz praises both the Israeli public and the media for assessing Livni as a politician first – and not, as in the case of Sarah Palin in the U.S.,  focusing on her looks or lifestyle: “While we know that Palin’s teenage daughter is pregnant and the name of the optometrist who sold her those snazzy specs, we also know that Livni is in favour of withdrawal from much of the West Bank and east Jerusalem so that a two-state solution can be achieved. A focus on policy? Strange approach to a woman’s campaign.”
Read “Does Tzipi like moose meat? Israelis don’t know or care?” here »
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