RAMALLAH – A political leader’s decision not to seek re-election usually triggers fervent discussion about potential heirs. Yet, President Mahmoud Abbas’s withdrawal from the presidential election scheduled for January 24, 2010, has produced nothing of the kind in Palestine – not because of a dearth of leadership or a reluctance to mention possible successors, but because the presidency of the Palestinian Authority has become irrelevant.
发自拉马拉——但凡有政治领袖决定不再寻求连任，必然会激起关于其潜在接班人的热烈讨论。但巴勒斯坦总统马哈茂德·阿巴斯放弃竞逐即将在2010年1月24日举行的总统大选时，巴勒斯坦国内却一片平静——这可不是因为缺乏领导人选或者是羞于提及可能的继任者，而是由于巴勒斯坦民族权力机构的主席职位早已被边缘化了。