Israeli Kadima leader and acting PM Tzipi Livni is very likely to become Israel’s next prime minister on a permanent basis. It’s been decades since Israel’s last female prime minister, Golda Meir, but what are the chances of Livni bringing about stability to the Middle East region? Let’s consult my friend Wikipedia:
Born in Tel Aviv,[9] Livni is the daughter of Eitan Livni (born in Poland) and Sara Rosenberg, both prominent former Irgun members.[10] Tzipi Livni served as a lieutenant in the Israel Defense Forces and worked for the Mossad for nearly two years during the early 1980s, resigning in August 1983 to marry and finish her law studies. It was rumored that she was a terrorist hunter for the Mossad,[11] but recent findings suggest that Livni was a low level agent. She was hired to live in a Paris apartment to maintain the appearance of a regular residential property.[12] A graduate of Bar Ilan University‘s Faculty of Law, she has 10 years experience as a practicing lawyer specializing in public and commercial law.[13] Livni resides in Tel Aviv. She is married to accountant Naftali Spitzer and has two children, Omri and Yuval. According to her childhood friend Mirla Gal, Livni is a vegetarian.[14] Livni speaks Hebrew, English, and French.
The Mossad background is hardly reassuring, is it, but wait, there’s more:
In Sharon’s Cabinet, Livni was an avid supporter of the prime minister’s disengagement plan and was generally considered to be among the key dovish or moderate members of the Likud party. She often mediated between various elements inside the party, and gained recognition for her efforts to achieve peace, particularly her successful efforts to have the pullout from the Gaza Strip ratified by the Knesset. On 12 November 2005, she spoke at the official yearly commemoration of Yitzhak Rabin‘s assassination.[17]
The emphasises are mine. Could there be hope after all? Let’s see if she’s elected first, shall we?