Israeli Political Roundup - Look Who's Supporting Sharon Now
Uber-peace activist Orna Shimoni - the mother of Eyal Shimoni and leader of the Four Mothers movement that effectively caused Israel to withdraw from Lebanon - is supporting Sharon's Kadima Party in the strongest terms:
Orna Shimoni... has announced her support of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's Kadima party on Saturday. Sources at Kadima told Ynet that Shimoni did not meet with Sharon and that she was not promised a spot on the party's list for the Knesset...
"Only Sharon's and Kadima's leadership can secure a continuation of the disengagement process in the West Bank. If we do not move in the direction of a Palestinian state, it would be impossible to promote the social developments we yearn for," she said
With no exaggeration, this is the equivalent of Cindy Sheehan declaring that President Bush is the man who can win the War on Terror and bring peace to the United States. It's that dramatic.
Likud
In an astounding move demonstrating just how desperate and reckless they've become, Likud MKs are trying to oust Sharon immediately and establish a new government:
A number of Likud MKs are looking to replace Prime Minister Ariel Sharon with a new national leader at the last minute... To do so, they must collect 61 signatures from fellow MKs in favor of the new leader and present them to President Moshe Katsav by December 8. The strategy for delaying the elections is based on the assumption that Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's new party would lose popularity in the interim.
This legislative trick - establishing a stable government without Sharon - would put Israel back on it's regular election cycle, delaying the elections for another year. The problem is that such a government would not be established for any ideological reason or with any firm agenda. It is purely a stunt to weaken Sharon politically:
MK Yuval Steinitz said he would approve such a move as early elections only benefit Sharon, "therefore it is legitimate to postpone them." "If Sharon is not the prime minister, his new party would collapse," he added. Steinitz said he believed that such a list of signatures could reach as high as 70 or more. "I think most parties have a clear interest in not doing what is convenient for Sharon."
And what happens to the country in the meantime - while amateurs and party hacks take over the government for just a little under a year? That's not really the Likud's consideration at this point.
Labor
Amir Peretz continues to bring in all his friends and turn Labor into a slightly more respectable version of his old party Am Ehad. Labor elites are going from worried to passive aggressive:
While Labor Party heavyweights lined up to meet with Chairman Amir Peretz ahead of a crucial vote Sunday, former prime minister Ehud Barak cancelled his well-publicized meeting. "Amir Peretz needs to realize that he must make Barak one of the leaders of the party, there is no other way," said an advisor to Barak. "If Amir Peretz thinks he can sideline Barak, he is very mistaken."...
"Amir Peretz has succeeded in scaring away all the Labor leadership," said a Shinui spokesman. "He has transformed it to the Am Ehad party in costume."
By the end of the day, Barak had definitively announced that he has effectively been forced out of the party by Peretz, and that he won't be running in the next election. That's what happens when you let a union hack ballot stuff his way to a party Chairmanship.
Kadima
Kadima continues to try to include Arab leaders in the party by bringing Labor MK Raleb Majadele aboard. Arutz Sheva doesn't say who was in the meeting on Saturday, but it's apparently reached a stage where Sharon's people are officially involved. If this had been solely a Peres initiative, Arutz Sheva would've been more than happy to again tie Peres to Sharon on the issue while branding Majadele an extremist.
Orna Shimoni... has announced her support of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's Kadima party on Saturday. Sources at Kadima told Ynet that Shimoni did not meet with Sharon and that she was not promised a spot on the party's list for the Knesset...
"Only Sharon's and Kadima's leadership can secure a continuation of the disengagement process in the West Bank. If we do not move in the direction of a Palestinian state, it would be impossible to promote the social developments we yearn for," she said
With no exaggeration, this is the equivalent of Cindy Sheehan declaring that President Bush is the man who can win the War on Terror and bring peace to the United States. It's that dramatic.
Likud
In an astounding move demonstrating just how desperate and reckless they've become, Likud MKs are trying to oust Sharon immediately and establish a new government:
A number of Likud MKs are looking to replace Prime Minister Ariel Sharon with a new national leader at the last minute... To do so, they must collect 61 signatures from fellow MKs in favor of the new leader and present them to President Moshe Katsav by December 8. The strategy for delaying the elections is based on the assumption that Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's new party would lose popularity in the interim.
This legislative trick - establishing a stable government without Sharon - would put Israel back on it's regular election cycle, delaying the elections for another year. The problem is that such a government would not be established for any ideological reason or with any firm agenda. It is purely a stunt to weaken Sharon politically:
MK Yuval Steinitz said he would approve such a move as early elections only benefit Sharon, "therefore it is legitimate to postpone them." "If Sharon is not the prime minister, his new party would collapse," he added. Steinitz said he believed that such a list of signatures could reach as high as 70 or more. "I think most parties have a clear interest in not doing what is convenient for Sharon."
And what happens to the country in the meantime - while amateurs and party hacks take over the government for just a little under a year? That's not really the Likud's consideration at this point.
Labor
Amir Peretz continues to bring in all his friends and turn Labor into a slightly more respectable version of his old party Am Ehad. Labor elites are going from worried to passive aggressive:
While Labor Party heavyweights lined up to meet with Chairman Amir Peretz ahead of a crucial vote Sunday, former prime minister Ehud Barak cancelled his well-publicized meeting. "Amir Peretz needs to realize that he must make Barak one of the leaders of the party, there is no other way," said an advisor to Barak. "If Amir Peretz thinks he can sideline Barak, he is very mistaken."...
"Amir Peretz has succeeded in scaring away all the Labor leadership," said a Shinui spokesman. "He has transformed it to the Am Ehad party in costume."
By the end of the day, Barak had definitively announced that he has effectively been forced out of the party by Peretz, and that he won't be running in the next election. That's what happens when you let a union hack ballot stuff his way to a party Chairmanship.
Kadima
Kadima continues to try to include Arab leaders in the party by bringing Labor MK Raleb Majadele aboard. Arutz Sheva doesn't say who was in the meeting on Saturday, but it's apparently reached a stage where Sharon's people are officially involved. If this had been solely a Peres initiative, Arutz Sheva would've been more than happy to again tie Peres to Sharon on the issue while branding Majadele an extremist.
