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January 31, 2003/Shevat 28 5763, Vol. 55, No. 23
Prime Minister faces tough talks
LESLIE SUSSER
Jewish Telegraphic Agency
JERUSALEM - Ariel Sharon is one of the savviest politicians Israel has produced.
It was Sharon who brought disparate right-wing parties together to form the Likud Party in 1973. It was also Sharon who, two years ago, persuaded a battered and bruised Labor Party to join a national unity government after Sharon won the premiership from the Labor incumbent, Ehud Barak.
But even Sharon will be hard-pressed to put together the broad-based government he would like, despite the unprecedented scope of the Jan. 28 victory for the Likud and the Israeli right.
Labor is refusing to join a Sharon coalition, and the third-place Shinui Party has set stringent conditions for joining.
That could leave Sharon facing his "nightmare scenario": a narrow coalition with the far-right and Orthodox parties.
Not easily deterred, Sharon will do all he can to entice Labor and Shinui into his government. His success could decide whether a new peace process can be launched, the kind of economic plan the country adopts, whether changes will be made in the religious-secular status quo - and even how long the government will last.
The left's crushing defeat evoked opposing reactions from its leaders. Meretz's Yossi Sarid announced that he would resign if the exit polls proved true, whereas Labor's Amram Mitzna said he was determined to fight on.
For Shinui leader Yosef "Tommy" Lapid, the red line for his secular rights party is whether the government includes fervently Orthodox parties.
Even without Labor and Shinui, Sharon still could form a stable coalition in the 120-member Knesset, but it would be a narrow government of the Likud, the far right and the Orthodox parties.
Sharon believes a narrow coalition would deny him the flexibility to maintain excellent ties with Washington and to move forward on the Palestinian track.
A coalition with Labor might force Sharon to adopt more conciliatory policies toward the Palestinians than he would like. On the other hand, it would give him flexibility toward the Americans, better standing in Europe and the ability to make concessions on the Palestinian track, while deflecting international pressure to negotiate under fire.
Indeed, in his victory speech, Sharon made a passionate appeal for a unity government with Labor, quoting the late Labor Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin on the common destiny of the Jewish people.
Parties shouldn't let "narrow political considerations" override the national interest, he said. He also recommended that "things said in the passion of elections" - such as Mitzna's pledge not to enter a coalition with Likud - not become "an obstacle before national unity."
Aides suggest Sharon will work hard to entice Labor to join the government: He would include the establishment of a Palestinian state in government guidelines, offer Labor key ministries - including Foreign Affairs and Finance - and even consider the country's first all-secular coalition.
Shinui leader Lapid, in fact, called on Labor to reverse course and join a secular coalition.
It's no accident that Sharon has appointed his former bureau chief, Uri Shani, to head the Likud's negotiating team: Shani has close personal contacts with veteran Labor figures, especially Shimon Peres.
But Shani faces a tough road: Mitzna believes one of the main reasons for Labor's electoral debacle was its long sojourn in Sharon's last national unity government. As part of the Likud-led administration, Labor's identity was blurred and it shared blame for the Likud's mistakes, Mitzna contends.
The only way to rebuild the party and make it a real alternative is by challenging the Likud from the opposition, Mitzna insists.
Even if he can't win over Labor as a whole, Sharon still hopes to attract individual Labor leaders with ministerial and policy offers.
If he succeeds, the impact on Israeli political life would be dramatic: It could lead to a split in Labor, with one faction joining Sharon in government and the other establishing a new social democratic grouping with Meretz.
Leslie Susser is the diplomatic correspondent for the Jerusalem Report. JTA Correspondent Naomi Segal in Jerusalem contributed to this report.
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