Election Talk – Kadima, Boat on Wheels or Fusion?
by Gil Rosen

Quit now if you hate politics, tired of politics or heard enough of it. I must admit I am no huge fan either, but as a citizen of a country that has held 5 (soon to be 6) elections during the last 14 years (1992,1996,1999, 2001 ,2003 ,2006) I will let this post be my humble say. However, this will not be about the regular political mambo-jumbo. I elected (notice careful choice of words ) to scrutinize the new Kadima party, under the “BOW vs. Fusion” microscope.Kadima, a political ‘center’ party, a meld of politicians from the left and right, fall under the classic definition of convergence – “a coming together from different directions, especially a uniting or merging of groups or tendencies that were originally opposed or very different” (Encarta Dictionary). A close look at the candidates list shows this was not exactly an even bond. Ariel Sharon, the ‘founding father’, was the former Likud Leader and I can safely say that most people joined Kadima from the right side of the political map rather then left or center. After the initial ”big bang”, Kadima handpicked select politically vague professionals whose weight is very light and do not effect the core essence of the uneven merge.

Much like technology, when several opposing or disperse technologies find common grounds, nice things happen. New capabilities or realities occur that make the whole game more exciting. For instance, who would have thought ten years ago that mobile devices will have internet connectivity enabling people to access PC data using WAP.

For those familiar with the local scene, Shimon Peres as the cell phone (with a miraculous self charging battery that doesn’t even respond to turning the device off) and Ariel Sharon (now Ehud Olmert) the PC…historical parallels that were never supposed to merge. Then today…today, it seems as though they were identical twins separated at birth by mistake.

The IP in this story belongs to Haim Ramon. The IP (Intellectual property) and IP (internet protocol). Ramon is considered by many to be the Nostradamus of Kadima, or perhaps better put, of the political big bang. He envisioned it and patented the connection. When the time was ripe he also became the enabler, the bearer that made both sides connect.

This new convergence has some excitement potential. With the left vs. right political stand off virtually over. The new center party has the opportunity to lead Israel to new places. Go boldly where no party has gone before, define the final borders of Israel - north, south, east and west. Lead a civil agenda that has always taken a back seat to security needs, and on and on…If they go half as far and twice as slow as what convergence did to the technology sector – good days are ahead.

But lets not reminisce yet. We are still in early days and I wish not to make a pre mature judgment on Kadima (although I said I would do it…but I chickened out). If they win the election (mark my bet - 32 mandates) and lead the country through the next few years, I will have enough material to work on. Currently I can say this – Conceptually they get my Fusion vote, practically I have a feeling that once elections subside and the politicians will start to behave normally (if they is such a thing…) this meld (A.K.A - Kadima) will start behaving more like a Boat on Wheels. But if the mother of all surprises happens and they loose , it won’t even look like a boat with wheels…just many scattered, scorned pieces of something after a train wreck.

Gil Rosen
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