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Escaped once again: Sharon
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Photo: Channel 2
Me, me, me: Netanyahu
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Long live the King

It's official: Ariel Sharon is the ultimate Houdini of Israeli politics

Long live the king: Ariel Sharon's victory Monday at the Likud Central Committee cemented his place as the ultimate Houdini of Israeli politics.

 

The indefatigable magician, who (so far) has managed to get out of every political jam, time after time and against all odds.

 

If anyone knows a politician more adept than Sharon at political spins, survival, or winning battles, Bibi Netanyahu would like to have a word with him.

 

But the newly-crowned King Arik (Sharon's popular nickname is Arik, and Likud supporters have referred to "King Arik" for years) continues to have issues with his "subject-members" he must bring into the Byzantine inner chamber of the Likud, and with government ministers supposed to be his helpmates, but some of them have become over time more of a thorn in the side than a helpmate.

 

For many members of the Likud Central Committee, it is no longer clear who is the ruler and who the ruled, who is the law and who the lawmaker, who is the voice of reason and who the voice of disgrace.

 

One hundred and four votes, Sharon's margin of victory in Monday's vote, between victory and defeat, between sanity and insanity, between captivity to the Yesha Council and the political Center, between stability and God-knows-what.

 

One hundred and four votes, 104 Committee members decided to choose calm, however temporary, to political abyss. We don't know yet whether it will turn out well or not, but in the meanwhile, there is quiet after the storm.

 

And the king will go to his advisors. "Let's move on. What's next?"

 

Unbelievable

 

Now that the battle between Netanyahu's unbridled ambitions and Sharon's survival instinct has (temporarily) ended, and the forces are withdrawing to regroup for the next round, we can take a deep breath, blink our eyes and not believe what we are seeing.

 

Is it really possible that Sharon emerged victorious from the Likud convention? Is it really possible that this man, who started the battle 20 percentage points down to Netanyahu, won the day, despite his address to the U.N., despite the leaks, despite the mistakes, despite (or perhaps because of) the microphone that "suddenly" went dead?

 

Unbelievably, it seems so. But the larger war has only just begun, a war that will bring Sharon to the heart of the Likud membership.

 

Sharon has a lot of work ahead of him, particularly heavy labor in some spots.

 

He must now go about doing the things he has neglected the past three years. He must get out and meet, sweet-talk, and caress the members of his party. He's got to speak to them, and listen to what they've got to say.

 

He's got to tell them it is time to rest after the disengagement, explain that now it is time to wait for the Palestinians to fight terror.

 

Sharon must go back to the Likud membership, and bring them back to him. He must be there for them, even if they have not always been there for him.

 

Settling scores

 

At the same time, Sharon must begin to settle scores, too many of which remain unfinished and new ones join the list all the time.

 

In the past few days alone, Sharon has added four names to the list: Yisrael Katz, Gidon Sa'ar, Limor Livnat and Danny Naveh, all of whom came out against him at the Central Committee convention.

 

It isn't clear whether Sharon can fire them immediately, or even whether he can take revenge at this stage. At the moment, there would be no benefit for him; after all, a prime minister can't change mnisters just because of their votes in internal party matters. It just wouldn't look good.

 

And also, in the spirit of the upcoming Jewish holidays, Sharon's message must be inclusive. He must present himself as someone who unifies the troops and is open to all.

 

Therefore, instead of firing them, Sharon's people will set aside the desire for revenge that wouldn't look good and plan for the day that they will be able to get even

 

Long memory

 

Let there be no question: Sharon will not forget. He's got a long, long memory, and his list of political scores to settle is growing.

 

He won't forget Limor Livnat, his protege and his pick for education minister, or the problems she gave him regarding the various votes on disengagement, or the role she played in this week's failed putsch.

 

He won't forget Yisrael Katz or Danny Naveh, and certainly not Gidon Saar, who he made coalition whip during his first term in the Knesset.

 

He won't forget, and the day will come when the swords are drawn.

 

Slowly but surely, they will be drawn. At the end of the day, they will pay the price.

 

Netanyahu: Embittered 

 

For his part, Netanyahu left the convention Monday without so much as a word. No call for unity, no thanks to party supporters, nothing before fleeing in his white Volvo.

 

For Netanyahu, as always, it was me, me, me: I will win, I will fight, I will lead the party, I will kick people out, I will return.

 

We lost the battle, he said, but we will win the war. This was just the beginning.

 

Uh-huh. The warm words of unity.  

 


פרסום ראשון: 09.27.05, 09:48
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