Likud weighs proposal to merge with Yisrael B'Aliya

The Jerusalem Post ^ | 30 January 2002 | THE JERUSALEM POST INTERNET STAFF

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Jan. 30, 2003
Likud weighs proposal to merge with Yisrael B'Aliya
By THE JERUSALEM POST INTERNET STAFF

The Likud Party of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is weighing the possibility of proposing a merger with Natan Sharansky's Yisrael B'Aliya.

It isn't clear whether Sharansky would consider such an idea. Sharansky gave up his Knesset seat on Wednesday to devote his time to rebuilding its party after it won only two seats in Tuesday's national election, down from four in the outgoing Knesset.

By adding Sharansky's two seats, the Likud, with 39 seats, could strengthen its hand in its efforts to woo coalition partners into a broad-based government.

The National Religious Party, which won five seats, is also interested in merging with Sharansky's party, media reports said.

[bvw]

I have always found it immensely curious that the US has been so predominately a two-party nation. Essentially those parties are the with-ins and the with-outs. The status quo upholders versus outsiders and changers. The incumbents and the challengers.

America is in that regard an amazingly unified operation.

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I think that's one of the big differences between the American system and the type of parliamentary system typically seen in Europe. Parliamentary systems are not stacked for or against any one party. The American system makes it almost impossible for anyone outside the major parties to be elected. IMHO, a parliamentary system is more democratic and insures a wide diversity of opinions are represented in government. It also forces coalition government, which means consensus building must occur for things to get done.

[bvw]

The procedures of the legislatures, federal and state, have come to greatly favor a two-party system, as have nearly every election districts rules for getting on the ballot. Recently campaign "regulation" -- finances, debate, etc, also enobles the existing two-party, Democrat and Republican order.

While this "order" has developed and grown -- it was never "established" -- that is there is no charter for only two parties. The order seems in that way to be almost a force of nature, of American nature. Something that is for practical purposes undeniably a fact of nature, yet whyso is unfathomable.

Another thing like this, is that American total tax rates, since founding seem to have been always almost exactly 20% of GNP, year after year.