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Is the balance tipping in Israel?

Naked Flame

07:56 / 22.05.02

Y'all read this?

Essentially, Sharon's coalition is down to 60 seats out of 120. That places him one seat away from being forced into elections and he's only hours away from being forced into a position of minority government.

Now, I think the guy is a monster of the first order and would be very happy to see him sent packing: but does anyone have a clue what would happen if he got forced out?

It's also interesting to note that it's the economic situation, not the intifada, that's eroding his power base. Of course, due to the intifada, the Israelis have lost most of their cheap labour, and that's always gonna screw up a capitalist economy. Kind of makes you wish that Arafat had just called a general strike, doesn't it?

sleazenation

08:09 / 22.05.02

Well key observers seriously doubt many MPs will go to the wire and provoke elections because of their own fears about losing their seats in the Knesset.

From a party position, Sharon's main rival in Likud is former prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, who while not as much of a monster as Sharon he comes across as less rational (TV interviews for channel 4 news he has stated that the Europeans have no right to criticise the actions of Israel because of the culpability in the holocaust.)

The Knesst's structure is quite strange because the Prime minister is not necessarily selected out of the party with the most votes - I understand that the canditate for PM is chosen and then has to go into talks to form a coalition government.

sleazenation

14:59 / 22.05.02

news just in... Looks like Sharon has managed to force his extremely necessary budget plan through its first reading - but at the cost of his sizable majority - and the bill has to go through another two readings before it becomes law - If it doesn't go through Israel's economy, already suffering as a result of the fall in various hi-tech markets over the last few years will be put under even greater pressure...

Our Lady of The Two Towers

16:32 / 22.05.02

Can US 'Lithers confirm or deny, sometime in the last week the guy who Sharon replaced as Prime Minister wrote an article for a US newspaper which, rather than painting him as the nice fairly liberal guy I'd always imagined, actually exposed him to be a right-wing scumfuck only a few degrees better than Sharon? And that his 'terms' for the peace accord he and Clinton made with Arafat were basically 'You agree that we have the land forever and we can do whatever we want and the Palestinians have no rights at all'?

shirtless, beepers and suntans

23:22 / 22.05.02

you're talking about ehud barak, right?

anytime i see that footage of him and arafat at camp david with clinton, i always get a good laugh out of when barak tries to give arafat a hug, arafat pushes him away and shakes his finger at him.

i guess someone's insecure in his sexuality.

Lurid Archive

08:53 / 23.05.02

i guess someone's insecure in his sexuality.

Perhaps. Then again, he may have been angry at the non deal offered and the portrayal of it in the media. It wouldn't have been too hard to predict Palestinian anger and Israeli reaction at that point.

Actually, doesn't Arafat regularly kiss people as a greeting instead of shaking hands?

grant

14:40 / 23.05.02

Yeah. In that corner of the world, it's not unusual for male acquaintances to walk arm in arm down the street.

Lurid Archive

15:15 / 23.05.02

I don't think he snogs them, its more a (double) kiss on the cheek. Have you really never seen this? Shit, maybe I imagined it. Must lay off those dodgy looking mushrooms...

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