Sharon lays on the charm

Prime Minister invites Shinui Chairman Lapid to watch Israel-Ireland soccer match together, in framework of efforts to secure budget vote majority; meanwhile, Sharon associates say Finance Minister Netanyahu trying to topple government

Reuters | Published: 03.24.05, 21:27

TEL AVIV - Will soccer bridge political gaps? Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has invited Shinui Chairman Yosef Lapid to watch the Israel-Ireland soccer match together, as part of efforts to elicit Lapid's support for the state budget, Ynet has found.

The two are expected to discuss the budget at 7 p.m. Saturday, before they turn their attention to soccer.

Lapid pulled his 15-member secular party out of Sharon's cabinet in December after the prime minister coaxed an ultra-Orthdox faction into the government by promising them extra funds.

Earlier Thursday, Deputy Prime Minister Ehud Olmert launched a scathing attack on Finance Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Thursday, accusing the former prime minister of "trying to bring down the government" by trying to muster support for a parliamentary bill to require a nationwide referendum on Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's pullout plan.

Olmert, long a spokesman for Sharon's policies, made his comments a day after Netanyahu met with Rabbi Ovadia Yossef in an attempt to win support of the ultra-Orthodox Shas party for the bill when it comes to a vote in the Knesset.

Netanyahu, a former prime minister, has been trying to garner support for a referendum in recent weeks in a show of defiance to Sharon, who opposes the notion.

“Is Bibi nuts? Has he lost his mind?” Olmert told Ynetnews. "Provided Bibi is not an idiot, and he's not, an analysis is unnecessary to understand what he is doing. The things speak for themselves."

Netanyahu officials slam accusations

Officials from Netanyahu's office characterized the comments about him as “preposterous,” adding that he had already backed the idea of a national referendum on handing over West Bank and Gaza territory in 1998, when he was prime minister.

“Olmert's words contradict the truth," they said. "The public is tired of the spin by the prime minister's office."

Sharon was forced by members of his Likud party opposed to the pullout plan, including Netanyahu, to pave the way for a referendum bill in return for their backing for the state budget.The budget must pass by March 31 in order to avoid early elections.

“Bibi must know that the minute Likud backs the referendum, the Labor party will leave the government, the budget will be delayed, the economy will crash and the withdrawal will be delayed for an unlimited time, and we'll be left to pick up the pieces,” he said.

The left-wing Labor party joined the government earlier this year in a bid to support the prime minister’s plan to dismantle 21 settlements in Gaza and four in the West Bank by the end of 2005.

Sources in the prime minister’s office also criticized Netanyahu’s efforts to push for a referendum, saying: “He is repeating his miserable ultimatum to the prime minister.”