Swing Votes And Soldiers- Elections- The 17th Knesset

This past week I was surprised to find an e-mail from BBC waiting for me when I returned home from guarding. They wanted to interview me for a program they were doing on the elections. It never happened in the end but it made me give some thought to the elections, specifically swing votes and the soldier vote.

I was again on base the night before elections and this gave me the opportunity to discuss the candidates with many people, playing devil’s advocate and trying to gain some insight into what people were thinking so close to elections.

It would seem the night before voting; most people weren’t sure who they were going to vote for, many not having the faintest idea. Why was this phenomenon so common on the eve of elections? I believe the reason people couldn’t find the party that was right for them was that it wasn’t there at all. It wasn’t that you loved two or three parties so much that you couldn’t decide which you liked more. The situation became: “Which party do I hate less? Which is going to do less of what I don’t want? Which party has even one person on their list who isn’t corrupt?!” Our vote was being decided by who was the least of many evils. With all the parties running for this 17^th Knesset, one would think there would be something for everyone, but most people didn’t feel a real connection or loyalty to any party.

I think this undecided swing vote played a large part in Tuesday’s election. With voter apathy at an all time high, of the few people actually voting, many were walking into the booth still undecided. People were making their decisions at the absolute last possible second because no party was particularly convincing that they were in fact the best choice. I even heard a story of one guy who used eenie-meenie-miny-moe to decide which party to vote for.

To say we need a reform in the government is an understatement. It is also a statement that shouldn’t need to be said. Politicians should be doing what they say they would, if they get elected. Politicians shouldn’t be corrupt. Accountability is key. Lying shouldn’t be tolerated or accepted. The only way this will change, is if we, the people speak up.