It’s a hazy, grey, windy day, accurately reflecting the unclear future we are facing as we vote today. Ra’anana’s long main road, Ahuza Street, is eerily quiet as I take my early morning walk. There is a bustle outside each school I walk past, but instead of the usual throng of pupils, groups of party activists are hanging banners across railings and setting up their tables. A couple of young men are battling against the strong wind as they attempt to fix a Netanyahu banner.
I get home just as the rain starts. An ad on the front page of my newspaper screams: "THEY’RE ALL LIEBERMAN EXCEPT MERETZ." Livni will sit with Lieberman and any right-wing-extremist-racist coalition,the ad tells us.
It’s interesting that Meretz views Livni and Kadima as its biggest threat, rather than Ehud Barak and Labour. Last night I did a quick telephone poll of my friends and the response backs Meretz’s assessment. Those who have been Labour voters in the past are voting for Livni (none of them said Kadima; they all said Livni) as the centre-left alternative to Likud. I also know some long-time Meretz supporters who are voting for Livni, again as an anti-Netanyahu move.
Is a vote for a small party a wasted vote? This question is important to the large group of undecided voters who wouldn’t mind giving Livni a try on the basis that she hasn't already failed as prime minister like Bibi and Barak, but who aren't clear what the Kadima party stands for and aren't enamoured with some members of the Kadima list. These voters might prefer to back a smaller party whose ideals reflect their own, and whose leader will be an effective lawmaker in the Knesset.
The polls are open until 10pm, so the undecided still have time to make up their minds.