Political Attacks Against Sharon - Can We Be Bitter Yet?
JPost has a pretty decent roundup regarding the remarkable loyalty of Prime Minister Sharon's closest political advisers, and an overview of how they intend to ensure that the Prime Minister's vision for Israel is carried through. Part of it will make it into this afternoon's political roundup, but in the meantime, this paragraph was buried at the very bottom:
On Monday the Sharon team sent up a trial balloon of the "blame Bibi" variant. An anonymous source blamed Education Minister Limor Livnat for her vigorous attack on Sharon's probity last week - following the report (since discredited) that the police had proof of a bribe Sharon accepted from his friend Martin Schlaff - causing the prime minister distress that might have brought on the stroke that evening. The fact that the story, which has no real proof, got onto the front page of the country's most popular newspaper, Yediot Aharonot, and subsequently the morning radio shows, will only embolden the team to start focusing its fire higher up, straight at Netanyahu.
As a rule, we always expressed skepticism at any rumors that Sharon was about to be arrested for corruption charges. When the rumors hit two weeks ago, we didn't bother mentioning them. After the PM's collapse, however, we did blog this:
Recriminations are beginning. Hospital officials have linked his conditions to his legal troubles. Not to sound bitter, but if this wave of investigations against the Sharon family implodes like the last one, they may have just murdered a Prime Minster.
The advisers going after those who drove PM Sharon to distraction are at least partially motivated by politics. But we imagine that they're also motivated by not a little bit of anger. How could they not be?
On Monday the Sharon team sent up a trial balloon of the "blame Bibi" variant. An anonymous source blamed Education Minister Limor Livnat for her vigorous attack on Sharon's probity last week - following the report (since discredited) that the police had proof of a bribe Sharon accepted from his friend Martin Schlaff - causing the prime minister distress that might have brought on the stroke that evening. The fact that the story, which has no real proof, got onto the front page of the country's most popular newspaper, Yediot Aharonot, and subsequently the morning radio shows, will only embolden the team to start focusing its fire higher up, straight at Netanyahu.
As a rule, we always expressed skepticism at any rumors that Sharon was about to be arrested for corruption charges. When the rumors hit two weeks ago, we didn't bother mentioning them. After the PM's collapse, however, we did blog this:
Recriminations are beginning. Hospital officials have linked his conditions to his legal troubles. Not to sound bitter, but if this wave of investigations against the Sharon family implodes like the last one, they may have just murdered a Prime Minster.
The advisers going after those who drove PM Sharon to distraction are at least partially motivated by politics. But we imagine that they're also motivated by not a little bit of anger. How could they not be?
