I just got this email from CNN Breaking News. What does it mean?

[napi21]

The new Kadima party is projected to win most seats in the Israeli election, according to Israeli TV exit polls.


I admit, I don't know anything about Israeli political parties!

[villager]

1. let's just say it's a helluva lot better than if Likud won...

n/t

[ck4829]

2. The Kadima Party is a coalition of both the center left and center right.

[SteppingRazor]

5. Yes, but...

as I pointed out in my other post, no one party got a plurality of votes, and Kadima will almost certainly form a coalition government with leftwing parties like Labor, nor rightwingers like Likud. The concessions Kadima will have to grant for sucha coalition will result in a more-leftist government in Israel, in all likelihood.

[Maiden England]

19. Israel has a list system of proportional representation

they always have had, and always will have a coalition formed government, their voting system means everyone gets the same percentage of seats as they received votes in the election.
Each party submits a list of its representatives in order of 'importance' - its leader being No. 1 on that list. Say they get 30% of the votes which is 36 seats, they would take the first 36 people on that list to be members of the knesset (and if the largest party/part of the government they could be ministers too). They have to make a coalition of 61 reps to make a government.

[SteppingRazor]

20. Right. My point being that...

Even though Kadima is a center left/center right party, the coalition government it will form will likely govern from the left, not the right, because of its coalition partners.

[maddezmom]

3. for one thing it means Netanyahu is probably going to be taking a vacation

from politics for a while if not forever.

[SteppingRazor]

4. It means, if they keep their promise, that Israel will unilaterally...

leave the West Bank in four years.

It also means that Israeli policy in general will shift leftward as Kadima forms a coalition with Labor and other leftwing parties, leaving Likud (which finished a surprising 4th place) and its allies as the minority party.

In other words, Kadima's win is a win for our side, speaking from a pure political philosophy stance.

[Nikki Stone1]

6. Do you think that Hamas's victory in Palestine had anything to do with it?

nt

[SteppingRazor]

9. Honestly? Not really.

I think internal politics played a far more important role. Seeing a statesman as far-right as Ariel Sharon move to the center -- and even the left on some issues -- was a serious eye-opener for many Israeli voters. The fact that Sharon had to form his own party because he could no longer support the reactionary policies of Likud only sealed the deal.

[Nikki Stone1]

11. That makes sense

So what's your prediction for Likud?

[SteppingRazor]

16. I don't think it's going anywhere.

Since Netanyahu, Likud has become the dominant conservative party in Israel. Electoral politics tends to move in cycles, and Likud will probably be back on top one of these days. After all, the Democratic Party doesn't control anything in the U.S., but you don't see us going anywhere, right?

[NNN0LHI]

7. Wrong party. Sorry n/t

[brooklynite]

8. More details here:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=2193408&mesg_id=2193408

With an additional link to Jerusalem Post's summary each party's platform.

[brooklynite]

12. Quick summary of Israeli election mechanics

Israel uses a "national list" system; e.g. each party prepares a list of candididates in order of priority. Voters cast a single vote for the party of their choice. Seats are awarded to each party in proportion to their popular vote share (80,000 votes required to enter Knesset), and candidates are assigned to the seats in order of their priority on the party list.

[brooklynite]

13. Senior Citizen's Party shows unexpected strength

The surprise of the election was the Gil pensioners' party, led by 79-year-old former senior Mossad agent Rafi Eitan, which won 6-8 seats. Kadima officials expressed an interest in including in the coalition the party whose main demand is benefits for Israel's senior citizens. The party's MKs will have freedom to vote their conscience on diplomatic issues, according to the party platform.

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1143498755311&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

[katty]

10. Netan "yahoo" is out

[malaise]

14. It means they will finally

announce that Sharon died.

[sabra]

15. Kadima translates to "Move Forward"...

my grade school teacher used to say, "Nu, Kadima"... I do see these results as a move forward.

peace.

[peacetalksforall]

17. I would hope that there is a shake up within the country as to the

criticism of Israel for their policies against Palestinians. I would also personally hope that non-support for some of the Israeli policy no longer ends up in an accusation of being anti-semetic. In other words, I hope there is some rational thought about their standing by the people within the U.S. who are tired of the decades old stand-offs and take overs. Also, for a few of us in this country who realize what is going on, there is the knowledge that the regime we have is partly driven by an inordinately imbalanced policy by extremely active Jews who if they lived in Israel would be leading the Likud Party.

[applegrove]

18. I think it is good. He is the moderate.