Artículo de Yoel Marcus en "Ha´a retz" del 29-11-02.

From the moment he opened his eyes this morning, the bouquets, the congratulatory telegrams, the phone calls from Israel and overseas, have not stopped. He climbs out of bed slowly, as if in a dream, the sweet taste of victory still on his lips, splotches of make-up still on his face. Bootlickers will come and go; spin doctors, close buddies and copywriters will drop by to raise a toast. But at the end of the day, the victor will remain alone with himself, and have to decide what to do with this victory.

To continue with the vagueness and foot-dragging? With the political inaction that kills hundreds of Israelis and maims thousands every year? Or to exploit the power granted by this victory in the primaries to focus on the issues?

The truly great leaders have been one-issue leaders. Ben-Gurion - the establishment of the state; Begin - Egypt; De Gaulle - Algeria. General Eisenhower, a charmer but not a very good politician, won a landslide victory after promising to put an end to the Korean War and bring the boys home. As a general, he understood that a strong, pampered, modern army that flew ice cream to its soldiers in special planes was no match for poor, barefoot guerrillas who had nothing but motivation. He quit lying about imaginary victories and the first thing he did when he became president was keep his promise.

If, after wasting two years, the winner of the primaries wants to go down in history with as broad a government as possible - i.e., in partnership with Labor headed by Mitzna - he will have to stand before the voters on January 28 and commit himself to one national issue: ending the conflict with the Palestinians and bringing the boys home.

Without make-up, image consultants or strategy advisers, he will have to look the nation in the eye and convey the message - in Hebrew, Russian and Amharic - that unless we leave the territories, evacuate settlements and give the Palestinians a state, this country is on its way out. The economic slump; the fear of terror, which has changed the way we live; the steady trickle of young and rich heading overseas; the general despair over death having become a routine - all these are the product of our struggle with the Palestinians.

Never has there been an election campaign in this country in which the cardinal issue is so sharply defined and so dependent on one leader, reputed to be the "only one who can." In the last 50 years, all the empires in the world have been wiped out, and a people's basic right to self-definition has become axiomatic. No Israeli leader has the right to deny the Palestinians the right which Israel itself exercised in declaring its independence and winning recognition as a state.

In the Likud primaries, Sharon and Bibi were playing pretend. Yes to a state, no to state. As if it were our decision to make. One person who understood that was Yitzhak Rabin, no less of a hawk than Sharon, who got the ball rolling toward a Palestinian state based on an agreement and good neighborly relations. But he was murdered and extremists on both sides reared their heads and began to dictate the national agenda by spilling blood.

Fifty-five years after its establishment, Israel is the only country in the world without permanent borders. In the absence of an agreement, the other side lives in temporary quarters, too, over which we rule with a heavy hand. And hate breeds hate. The stone-throwing of the intifada and the attacks of suicide bombers will become a guerrilla war - a war in which the poor, barefoot and oppressed will always come out on top when the opponent is a modern, progressive Western society.

A victor cannot be vague. When he says "painful concessions," what does he mean? When he agrees to a Palestinian state "only if terror stops," what is he really saying? Because the fact is, conflicts of this type never end without negotiating under fire. How much more brute force will we use before it sinks in that terror can only be eradicated by dialogue?

According to the surveys, 65 percent of the Likud membership, and the same percentage of the general public, support in principle both a Palestinian state and the evacuation of settlements. It is beginning to seep in that things cannot go on this way.

In his election campaign, the victor must concentrate on the one goal and the one message that the whole world, with Bush at the top of the list, expects of us. He must show that he has the greatness of spirit and courage to bring Israel home.