Bibi Netanyahu: more spanking deserved?

It will be naive to expect a politician to behave straighter than, say, an average corkscrew. Still, most of that peculiar species try to hide their hanky panky behind some veil, even if formal.

Not so with Bibi. For several months he and his "associates" were busy digging under foundations of the rival Kadima party (which foundations, it must be said, are not too strong to start with, but it's an unrelated issue), having in mind a group desertion of Kadima by its MKs for Likud.

Even yesterday the fact was hotly denied:

...associates of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday slammed Livni for saying that the premier and his Likud party were trying to split up Kadima.

Even when one of the suspected renegades already 'fessed up.

Today, however, the gory details of the whole deal leaked for all to see.

At least six Kadima MKs signed a document with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's adviser Yitzhak Molho last week committing themselves to leave the party, sources close to Netanyahu confirmed on Wednesday night.

Netanyahu and his associates have negotiated with 15 Kadima MKs about leaving Kadima over the past three months and they hope to persuade 10, but just seven are needed in order to legally split off from the party.

And the price:

Each of the MKs who leave Kadima will become a minister, deputy minister or Knesset committee chairman.

Some local economist has already calculated the price of the first six deserters to the tax payer and the result is $10M, give or take a few millions (these are the expenses related to setting up three new minister's and three new deputy minister's offices).

But you know what: upon second thought I, as a taxpayer, consider it a small price to pay for this lesson of open and unashamed political debauchery. The show and the attached lesson were really worth it.

I am sure that in a few days after completion of the deal, Bibi will give a speech. In that speech the whole stinky business will be sincerely justified and presented to John Q. Public not only as a brilliant political achievement (which it might as well be, looking at the chilling corpse of Kadima) but as a thoroughly moral and straightforward act (which is surely ain't).

And you know what: John Q. Public will swallow it. And if a few wouldn't - well, they will surely forget it way before the next election.

So, Bibi - way to go!