Word: netanyahu
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...election jockeying begins in earnest this week. Sharon, 72, could face opposition within his party from several colleagues, including former Finance Minister Meir Sheetrit and the popular rising star of the right, Silvan Shalom. Netanyahu's supporters may also try a parliamentary maneuver to push for a general election, undercutting Barak's anti-Bibi move...
...always survived impeachment votes in a parliament heavily stacked against him for one simple reason - the legislators wanted to keep their jobs, and ousting him would have meant new elections. Now Israel's Prime Minister Ehud Barak may have benefited from a similar effect. His most dangerous challenger, Benjamin Netanyahu, bowed out of the February election Monday, citing the legislature's refusal to vote for a full new election. Instead, the Knesset voted on a special "Bibi Bill" to allow any citizen to run in February's poll, which is only for the post of prime minister...
...Barak urgently needs at least a substantial interim peace agreement if he's to beat off the challenge of Benjamin Netanyahu when Israel goes to the polls - presuming Netanyahu can prevail over the legal obstacles to his candidacy - and President Clinton would dearly like to close out on a note of triumph. The specter of a right-wing Israeli government and a more distant Bush administration will be used to tempt Arafat to conclude a final peace deal while his Camp David partners are still in place, although there's also considerable Palestinian skepticism about being stampeded into compromises with...
...Netanyahu's dramatic comeback bid was derailed by the ultra-Orthodox Shas party, which was prepared to support him once again for prime minister, but not at its own expense. The party's 17 seats give it a kingmaking - and -breaking - role in the fractious legislature, and that's powerful leverage for a minority party. But polls indicate that it would lose between four and six seats to Likud in a parliamentary election right now. Both parties draw support primarily from immigrants from Arab countries, and analysts predict that in an election focused almost exclusively on peace and security issues...
...Netanyahu, of course, will still be a major feature in the campaign, urging voters to support the man he'd have challenged for the Likud leadership, Ariel Sharon. But Barak - who may face (and will almost certainly defeat) a primary challenge from former prime minister Shimon Peres - must fancy his chances of reeling in Sharon's lead over the incumbent. After all, Sharon is Israel's most notorious hawk, and even though Israelis have little confidence in the peace process right now, it may be more difficult for Likud to rally a majority behind a man many Israelis fear will...