by Elliot Abrams
The new prime minister was elected to
the nation's top office in his 60s after many years in politics. He had been an
opposition leader while another party, tied to the nation's very creation, ruled
most of the time and claimed to be the "natural" party of government. His
victory was heralded as creating a new era in politics, with the hold of the old
political clique apparently broken for good.
The new prime minister brought a new
economic policy, rejecting the socialist approach of most of his predecessors.
He was oriented toward the free market, and toward helping bring prosperity to
the masses of poor voters who felt excluded under the old system.
He was a controversial figure, with
many allegations about involvement in violence and extremist groups as a younger
man. He had, in fact, been called a fascist and a demagogue by his political
enemies.
This portrait fits India's new prime
minister, Narendra Modi -- and it fits Menachem Begin, Israel's prime minister
from 1977 to 1983.
Of course, there are many differences
in their careers and lives as well, and one should not push the comparison
further than it will go.
But there are enough parallels to
evoke interest, not least the concern that each was an extremist who could not
be trusted with power. As Begin broke the power, and socialist economic
approach, of the Labor party ruling clique that had governed Israel since its
independence in 1948, so Modi has broken the power of the Congress Party and the
Nehru-Gandhi dynasty that ruled India for much of the period since independence
in 1947. Modi's association with the RSS and Begin's with the Irgun were the
source of many accusations about their political values. Both men seemed to win
election by gaining the trust of masses of people who felt excluded by the
ruling elites and felt the government was indifferent to their poverty and lack
of opportunity. Both men brought a greater religious aspect into a politics that
had seemed militantly secular.
One aspect of India's foreign policy
under the Congress Party governments has been hostility to Israel, a part of
India's fealty to Third World, Non-Aligned Movement pieties. Today
Indian-Israeli relations are better and Israeli commerce with India is growing,
but it will be interesting to see if Modi warms the relationship up.
A suggestion: Prime Minister
Netanyahu should send Modi a copy of Daniel Gordis' excellent biography,
"Menachem Begin: The Battle for Israel's Soul." And let him draw his own
parallels.
From "Pressure
Points" by Elliot Abrams.
Elliot Abrams is a senior fellow for Middle East Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations.
Source: http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_opinion.php?id=8461
Copyright - Original materials copyright (c) by the authors.
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