Word: sharone
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...strong poll numbers for Kadima a day after Sharon's collapse may reflect the shock felt by an electorate not yet digesting the departure from the political scene of a leader to whom it had looked for security, and for hope of ending the conflict with the Palestinians. Although the poll gives Kadima 40 seats, it's the man in the No. 1 spot rather than the other 39 on the party's list that they're voting for. Israeli analysts expect Kadima's share of the vote to decline in the coming weeks, and anticipate a more or less...
...Kadima had been expected to dominate largely because of Sharon's own popularity - indeed, it achieves this level of support despite having never declared a policy or chosen an electoral list. Without its founder leading the charge, the party will be less likely to distinguish itself from a field in which voters see no strong single leader behind whom they could rally...
...hoping to change that perception, and convince voters that he is Sharon's designated political heir, is acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. Having been deputized by Sharon en route to the hospital - and being one of his closest political allies - Olmert quickly drew the Kadima leadership around himself. The former mayor of Jerusalem is also a three-decade political veteran from a family involved in Likud and its predecessor, Herut, since even before the creation of the State of Israel. Like Sharon, he is a longstanding hawk who has moved steadily towards the center, even winking at the left, over...
...Unlike Sharon, however, Olmert has none of the stricken leader's military and security credentials to shield him from attacks from the right. And his abrasive manner has earned him many enemies on both sides of Israel's ideological divide. Today, the acting prime minister is very much a centrist within the Kadima ranks. Olmert is not a particularly popular figure in Israel, but he is very ambitious - in 1999, he ran against Sharon in a primary for the Likud nomination for prime minister. Now, he'll stake his own claim for leadership by painting himself as the custodian...
...acting prime minister, Olmert has the advantage of incumbency, and he'll hope to make that an effective to winning the job on March 28. He can be expected to seek symbolic opportunities to claim the role of Sharon's designated political heir, such as seeking endorsement from the prime minister's sons. Olmert also sought to demonstrate continuity on Thursday first by convening a cabinet meeting in which Sharon's chair was left vacant, and then by receiving briefings from the heads of Israel's security services and calling Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas to apprise him of developments...