In an efficient market, there is no reason to expect the foreign party to the trade to be any better informed than the local.
At another time, a brainy left-winger interested in foreign affairs might well have entered the Labour Party and become foreign secretary or secretary of defence.
But the resurgence of the Democrats will nevertheless have a profound influence on the direction of American foreign policy, given the party's strong disagreements with the Bush doctrine.
Once the novelty of power wears off and the agony of austerity begins, these voters could migrate to a Labour Party rendered more Liberal-friendly by a non-tribal leader such as David Miliband (the former foreign secretary and favourite to take over the party).
The departure of the Social Democratic Alliance would force a reconstruction of the government as party holds the defense and foreign affairs portfolios, and a deputy prime minister post.
Indeed, Olmert and his deputy and successor as leader of the Kadima party outgoing Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni never developed any coherent position on Iran at all.
On Friday, the Russian Foreign Ministry denied any four-party meeting reports though the U.N. confirmed one was most definitely in the cards this weekend.
He and his Labour party have been trailing well behind the foreign minister, Tzipi Livni, and her Kadima party and Binyamin Netanyahu and his hard-right opposition Likud party.
Mr Abbas also approvingly mentioned Tzipi Livni, who succeeded Mr Olmert as head of the Kadima party and was Israel's foreign minister during the last bout of negotiations.
Mr Barak, the leader of the Labor Party, in effect acts as foreign minister for the peace talks while the man who holds the title, Avigdor Lieberman, has threatened to quit the government if the prime minister gives too much ground.
He defeated Karel Schwarzenberg, an aristocratic foreign minister with the TOP09 party, who garnered 45.2%.
Karel Schwarzenberg, an aristocratic former foreign minister with the TOP09 party, was in second place with 45.1%.
Hatnua, the party of former Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni who is focused on talks with Palestinians, gained seven seats.
Joschka Fischer, the Green Party's foreign minister, lacks political judgment because he once proposed the wrong man for a job.
The party's foreign affairs spokesman Menzies Campbell took the second largest amount of money before he dropped out of the race.
One person who seems to have got off lightly in all this is the Socialist Party chairman and foreign minister, Laszlo Kovacs.
The former foreign secretary said his party had not become "anti-Europe" but was no longer "soft-headed" in equating extra spending with effectiveness.
BBC: Labour 'repositioning' itself on Europe - David Miliband
On December 4th, Labor members of parliament changed leaders a fifth time, dumping Mr Beazley in favour of Kevin Rudd, the party's foreign-affairs spokesman.
Respected former finance minister Manmohan Singh chairs Congress's new committee on economic affairs, former external-affairs minister Natwar Singh devises the party's foreign policy and so on.
The Labor party, like Lapid, stressed domestic problems while the new party Hatnua, led by former Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni focused on peace talks.
The royal party, accompanied by Foreign Secretary William Hague, started their five-day visit on Wednesday in Abu Dhabi and arrived in Oman on Thursday.
BBC: Queen tries hand at art curating on state visit to Oman
At the diplomatic level, foreign governments wage lawfare by pressuring the United States to become party to international regimes that assume decision-making authority in critical areas.
Kevin Rudd, the man she displaced as Labor party leader two months before the election, becomes foreign minister.
With all precincts reporting and more than 99 percent of the vote counted, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni's Kadima party was on track to win 28 seats in the 120-member Knesset, the same as it currently holds.
He also met the Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgama and the leader of the opposition United National Party (UNP), Ranil Wickremesinghe.
Seiji Maehara, the new foreign minister in Mr Kan's government, is on the party's realist wing.
Opposition parties, led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), say opening the retail sector to foreign direct investment will put tens of thousands of small businesses and corner shops out of business.
Blame has fallen mainly on Guido Westerwelle, the foreign minister, who has dominated the party for the past decade.
ECONOMIST: Will the new face for the Free Democrats be tough enough?
The Foreign Ministry "stresses that whoever the party that kidnapped him and whatever their motives, they bear the full responsibility to protect him and release him promptly, " the agency said.
Mr Netanyahu, who was appointed caretaker foreign minister last week after the Labour Party quit the coalition government, has repeated his call for the forcible deportation of Mr Arafat from the West Bank.
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