Viewpoint: Israel has their second election in 6 months.

This is something I'll be looking to cover on my Live & Direct radio show next Monday, but I'll use the blog here to pull together my thoughts as we go.  Also, in relation to the blog, I'll use this blog now to focus on some of the stories I may well be talking about on the show, which will give you an insight into what comes into my stream of consciousness during pre-production of the weekly show.

So, at 8pm UK time, 2200 in Israel, 1900 GMT, the polls closed and the exit polls were announced.  Now, in the UK, we get a single exit poll, that all the major broadcasters commission.  In Israel, the situation is a little different, as there as 3 different exit polls, but none of them have The Likud Party leading, and one has them behind.  It's basically too close to call right now, but the early indications point to the centrist Blue & White Party having the most seats.

Now, if the actual results bear this out, this could be the end of Benjamin Netanyahu's political career, as he is facing allegations of corruption.  Bibi was hoping that he could win this election so he could persuade potential allies on the right to back a piece of legislation that would make him immune from prosecution.  But it looks like that strategy may have backfired spectacularly.  And even if he does win, after the past 5 months of failing to garner a coalition for government, it would be unlikely to believe that a coalition could form around such a controversial idea, as making a politician immune from prosecution.

We'll see what happens in the upcoming hours and days.

Viewpoint - Coastguard cutbacks

Australian PM soon to call a federal election?

ABC Australia is reporting that there is mounting speculation as to whether PM John Howard will call an election this weekend. ABC Australia seem so certain on this that their election site is already up and running.

Out of interest, I decided to look at the other Australian news sites. NineMSN didn't show anything of interest there. The SBS World News Australia site reports that Howard says he has more to do before setting an election date. Seven News doesn't have anything to say on the matter, whilst Sky News Australia highlights the fact that unofficial campainging is already underway.

One thing I can assure you, is that when the election happens, I will cover Australia's Election Night, right here on Viewpoint.