Word: shamir
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 1980-1989
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...closer, much closer than Labor had expected or Likud had dared to hope. Broad smiles appeared on the faces of Likud supporters as they burst into applause. Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir, it seemed, might have a chance of staying in office. At Labor headquarters, the fans of Party Leader Shimon Peres looked stunned. "It can't be, it can't be," they muttered...
Never was the contrast in the styles of the two men so apparent. Animated, aggressive, sarcastic, Shimon Peres assailed his opponent, all the while calling him "Mr. Shamir" instead of by his official title of Prime Minister. "You have learned to make mistakes," Peres summed up. "We have learned from your mistakes." Yitzhak Shamir did his best to ignore the barbs. Serious, diffident, somewhat plodding, he pledged to tackle the nation's woes more aggressively. Said he: "Elections come and go, but the country stands forever... We must fortify...
...time the two candidates will meet before next Monday's parliamentary elections. With questions supplied in advance, the encounter mirrored the sluggish campaign. Opinion also seems becalmed: according to polls published in the Jerusalem Post last week, Peres and his Labor party still enjoy a cozy lead over Shamir's Likud bloc, 39.5% to 29.5%. If that gap holds, Labor could win 47 of the Knesset's 120 seats, vs. 35 for Likud...
...improve his chances, Shamir has cast about for a headline-grabbing diplomatic strike. At one point his aides whispered about a summit meeting with Morocco's King Hassan II or a get-together with Ronald Reagan, but Shamir did not pursue either one. The Prime Minister is still pushing to swap 120 Palestinian guerrillas for three Israeli soldiers held by a wing of the Palestine Liberation Organization. What he would most welcome is a last-minute campaign appearance by his predecessor, Menachem Begin, who remains a virtual recluse in his Jerusalem apartment. Likud officials estimate that...
...Shamir repeated his pledge to invite Labor to join a national unity government if he is elected, but Peres quickly turned aside the offer as an "election ploy." Nonetheless, the winner almost certainly will need the support of several small parties to build a coalition. Shamir could glean bright news from polls that show Tehiya, an ultra-right-wing Likud partner with three Knesset members, picking up six or seven seats. If the election is taper thin, that could be enough to tip the balance in Shamir's favor...