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Politics : Foreign Affairs Discussion Group -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: paul_philp who wrote (69695)	1/29/2003 1:06:45 AM
From: Nadine Carroll	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 281500

From Ha'aretz: Sharon crushes left; says either unity gov't or new elections PM quoted as ruling out narrow right-wing gov't; with virtually all polling stations counted: Likud - 37 seats, Labor - 19, Shinui - 15, Shas - 11. By Ha'aretz Service Ariel Sharon crushed Israel's left Tuesday to become the first incumbent Israeli prime minister to win re-election since the 1980's, and immediately launched an all-out bid to form a unity government with the decimated Labor Party. An aide to Sharon said that the prime minister would not form a narrow right-wing government, and that if he failed to cobble together a unity coalition he would not hesitate to call new elections. Click here for extracts from Ariel Sharon's victory speech. Sharon called the results "a historic victory, a great victory." But he said that celebrations were premature, as terrorism, the Iraqi crisis, and the socio-economic plight all still threatened the nation's population. "Today is not the time for celebrations - no celebrations. This is a time for soul-searching, for coming together in unity, for fusing all forces in order to bring about a genuine victory." "It is time to come together," Sharon continued. "I am announcing today, that after the president assigns me the task of forming a government, I will ask all Zionist parties to join a unity government that will be as broad as possible." With all polling stations counted aside from the votes of soldiers and diplomats abroad, official results showed Likud with 37 seats, Labor with 19, Shinui with 15, Shas with 11, the National Union with seven, Meretz with six, the National Religious Party with five, United Torah Judaism with five, Hadash with four, Balad with three, One Nation with four, Yisrael b'Aliyah with two and the United Arab List with two seats. Television projections released immediately as polling stations closed Tuesday night showed Sharon's Likud sweeping to victory in the elections for the 16th Knesset, garnering 35 seats, with the Knesset's right-wing bloc predicted to capture up to 67 seats in the 120-seat house. The forecasts also indicated that the Labor-led left-wing bloc had been decimated.Click here for television projections "I do not intend to establish a narrow right-wing government under any circumstances," Channel One quoted Sharon as telling its reporter after a victory speech. "If there is no alternative, and I do not succeed in establishing a different, unity government, I will not hesitate to go to additional elections." http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/pages/Flash1.html Ha'aretz didn't quote the bit in Sharon's victory speech where he called the elections a complete waste of time that had been forced on him by Labor, a sentiment shared by the vast majority of Israelis. Now the fun begins -- building the coalition. It was bold of Sharon to say: national unity government or bust. But Sharon holds a very strong hand. I personally doubt that the prominent Laborites' loyalty to a now discredited leader who ran a terrible campaign will hold up against the temptation of government ministries. Mitzna may stay in opposition, but I daresay Sharon can entice some Laborites into the government along with Likud, Shinui, Yisrael B'Aliyah, and whatever right-wing parties come into the mix. I was sorry to see that Shinui didn't pass Labor in Knesset seats. But Tommy Lapid still created a nightmare for Shas: Shas dropped from 17 seats to an estimated 11 while Shinui surged to 15 seats. So Shinui will be in and Shas out. Couldn't have happened to a nicer bunch of theocratic welfare queens. Most of all, this election was a disaster for the Left: Labor dropped from 26 to 19 (if 19 even holds up in the final count). Meretz dropped from 12 to 6. I hope Fuad Ben Eliezer is happy with his achievement.