The media is calling it a “political earthquake”, but those who have been watching Israeli politics have seen this coming for a while: Ariel Sharon has left the Likud party to form his own new centrist party. Most likely, the Knesset will be dissolved and elections will be called within 90 days.
Sharon has been fighting the hardline faction in his own party for quite some time, ever since he moved ahead with the bitterly contested Gaza withdrawal. It’s been clear for a while that Sharon has more support among the general Israeli public than within his own party. And with the Labour party moving further to the left with the election of new leader Amir Peretz, there is room in Israel for a broad-based centrist party.
For those who are thinking that Sharon has just committed political suicide, remember that he’s the proverbial cat with nine lives in Israel, and he’s only used up about three or four of them. He enjoys massive personal popularity and those who underestimate him tend to end up picking up the pieces of ruined careers. I wouldn’t count him out just yet.
a sharon-peres ticket?
Sari,
Just to correct some mistakes in your post:
form his own new centrist party
all indications are that the party will follow Sharon’s current policies which are clearly borrowed from the left,
Sharon has been fighting the hardline faction in his own party
Clearly, Sharon has hijacked the Likud party and destroyed it by implementing leftist policies and ideaology and by ignoring the Likud’s own constitution, members, and especially the ‘hardline’ platform he ran on.
He enjoys massive personal popularity
Not. Sharon has been the darling of the media only because he was implementing the leftist disengagement. Sharon is otherwise hated by the left, the media, and currently the right ‘power base’ which is betrayed. I believe I posted here before the expulsion happened that the Israeli media was admittedly in full support of Sharon and not willing to endanger the disengagement by criticizing anything. He was dubbed the etrog – the citrus fruit that is protected from even one small nick during succot. By Sharon leaving the Likud, the media will now paint the Likud as fanatical rightists.
The current darling of the media is Peretz. The Labour party has always been the ‘home’ party of the media. Their recent primaries were treated as if the whole country was choosing a leader. Sharon will be a pariah, especially since he might be a threat to Peretz and the Labour regaining more seats in the knesset. His ex-Likud traitors will be also pariahs as well, exactly the way they were treated before they joined Sharon in supporting the disengagement. Even they have such short memories.
If anything;
In recent years, the Israeli political atmosphere was moving toward consolidation and stability. The threshold for small parties was raised and only a handful now exist, as opposed to the dozens (literally) only a few years ago.
Sharon has succeeded in destroying this.
Josh; did you ever locate the co-ordinates for that US base using Google Earth? I’m still not clear on where it was.
And then there was this today, stupidity knows no boundaries;
http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/meast/11/23/mideast.glider/