Prime Minister Ariel Sharon intends to ask Labor chairman Shimon Peres to run the country together with him in a new “super-deputy premiership,” that would grant Peres vast powers, beyond those enjoyed by any number two before, sources close to Sharon told The Jerusalem Post on Thursday… [Sharon] said, “the people of our generation have on their shoulders the responsibility to resolve the [Israeli-Palestinian] conflict.”
Damn right. Now the two of them have to go back to their respective parties and convince ideologues who have no idea what’s going on that they should trust the people who do. Ha’aretz’s Yossi Verter does examines the political upshot, including the impact that a deal would have on internal primary dates. Ma’ariv goes day-to-day on the political process, including what pursuing Central Commmittee approvals will look like:
However, both Sharon and Peres face a serious obstacle on their path towards unity. The alliance would have to be approved by the parties’ central committees. In fact, Sharon would have to bring about a reversal in its previous decision forbidding him to hold talks with Labor. If the Likud fails to support the alliance, as many as ten of its MKs would likely vote against a unity government when and if it is presented before the Knesset.
Not that that’s going to be a problem – surprisingly, Sharon turns out to be a tactical genius. Who knew? Seriously – even Ha’aretz is willing to admit that – kinda.
