The main Israeli opposition party, the conservative Likud party, is eyeing a return to power, its leaders said in recent days.

Binyamin Netanyahu, Likud’s leader, is hopeful about becoming his country’s Prime Minister after the next elections. He has become hopeful of a return to power for him and his party because Ehud Olmert, Ariel Sharon’s successor as PM and leader of the Kadima party, has weakened his own party considerably in recent years.

Israelis blame him for not taking the war against Lebanon serious enough. Although Israel weakened the terrorist organization Hezbollah severely, many Israelis believe that it could have been even weaker if Olmert was a stronger leader. His approach, many Israelis complain, was half-hearted. He was divided between going to war and not going to war; the result was ’something in between.’

Olmert’s conduct caused many supporters of his party, Kadima, to rethink their alliance. Most of them moved with Sharon from Likud to Kadima. Now, after several years, however, many believe it is time to give Likud another chance.

Sharon created Kadima out of Likud. The controversy that led him to create his own party is sometimes described as the “big bang” of Israeli politics. He changed the political landscape considerably; the men and women in charge of Kadima were mostly former Likud members, but they were more practical, and less ideological.

Most voters moved to Kadima because of Sharon. The former general was a hero, and trusted by many. As a result, his new party came to power immediately.

But then Sharon suffered a major stroke which put him in a coma, and he was succeeded by his No. 2 man, Ehud Olmert. Olmert proved to be a completely different kind of leader; a technocrat lacking Sharon’s confidence.

“If we got a slap from Netanyahu, we got a punch in the face from Kadima,” says Jojo Abutbol, a local resident and chat show host, who plans to return to the Likud fold.

“Not only have we forgiven Bibi, we have realised we were wrong - what is 4% off welfare compared to the way things have deteriorated?”

Abutbol’s words are echoed by many other reasonably conservative Israelis.

Kadima was created because Sharon wanted to withdraw from certain settlements and areas, and wanted to work more with the Palestinian authority to find a peaceful solution for the Israel - Palestine conflict. Many conservative Likud members opposed it, some even resigned from their cabinet posts out of protest. Sharon then decided to create a new party, believing that he had to try to find a solution to the problem.

Now, three years after Kadima was first created, however, many Israelis and especially Kadima supporters feel the situation has changed dramatically, and most certainly not for the better.

Hamas took over control of Gaza. Rockets are fired at Israel on a daily basis. Those living close to the border have no to little security. Something, these individuals say, has to give.

And, instead of turning to politicians eventually willing to give in to the Palestinian demands, they turn to leaders who do not. They believe that their government should take a stronger, more aggressive approach. Weakness, they say, has been tried, it is now time to show and use Israel’s strength.

Unlike Kadima, Likud does not want to negotiate with Palestinian leaders about peace. Not at this time at least. The conservatives want to wait until a strong Palestinian leadership stands up. In the meantime, they want to help the West Bank economically.

Israelis do not want high hopes, idealistic futures, and goals that can never be reached, yet sound nice in theory. They want effective, realistic leadership. At this moment, it seems, only Likud offers them that.