Sharon Dissolves Israeli Parliament, Calls for New Elections

Sharon called for snap elections early next year after failing to build the partnerships necessary for a new right-wing coalition in the wake of the collapse of his broad unity government last week.

Sharon told a news conference that he was reluctant to make the decision for new elections but that he had no choice since the alternative would have meant succumbing to the demands of the political parties crucial to his control of a new minority government.

“Elections are the last thing this country needs right now,” Sharon said before adding, “the political blackmail of the far right has left me no option.”

On Monday, Sharon had resisted the call to take the nation to new elections, saying the move would be “irresponsible.”

The elections have been set for Jan. 28 and the ensuing political campaign is expected to be turbulent as Israel continues to the face an ongoing conflict with the Palestinians and increased tensions over a possible U.S. invasion of Iraq.

The election announcement comes on the heels of Sharon’s survival of three no-confidence motions brought in parliament Monday by left wing and opposition parties in the wake of the resignations of Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres and other Labor Party cabinet members last week.

The Labor Party leaders resigned over a state budget dispute on the funding of Israeli settlements in areas where Palestinians want to create a new state, sparking the collapse of Israel’s unity coalition government and leading Sharon to try and create a much narrower minority coalition of conservative partners.

Moshe Katsav, president of the Israeli parliament, announced his agreement with the decision to dissolve the legislative body Tuesday. At an earlier press conference Katsav said, “The prime minister told me that he is unable to form a stable coalition, and I was persuaded by the prime minister and was convinced that the conditions demand early elections,” according to Ha’aretz.

Sharon blamed the failure of his 20-month-old government on both the bolting of the moderate Labor Party and the demands of the far-right National Union-Israel Beiteinu party. The participation of National Union party legislators was key to Sharon’s construction of a new minority coalition.

Representatives from the National Union presented Sharon with strict terms for their participation in his new minority government, including the formal cancellation of Israel’s commitment to the 1990s interim peace accords with the Palestinian Liberation Organization.

Sharon cited his desire to maintain Israel’s “special relationship” with the U.S. as part of his decision not to continue to court ultra right-wing parties into his new minority government, due in part to their demand that Sharon reject the newest U.S.-backed plan for peace in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

After the decision was made to move forward with new elections, former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that he would serve as Sharon’s foreign minister until the new election. Netanyahu, who is considered a key challenger to Sharon for the leadership of their Likud party, had made the new elections a term of his acceptance of the temporary foreign minister post.

“There will be a [primary contest] and then we will unite our forces and bring about the Likud’s victory and put together the new government,” Netanyahu told a news conference.

“If you had brought [Microsoft chairman] Bill Gates as finance minister and Julius Caesar as prime minister, nothing could have been accomplished by this parliament,” Netanyahu added.

Leaders from the opposition Labor Party have said that they will try to focus the upcoming election on more domestic issues such as the economy instead of solely on the conflict with the Palestinians, where the hard-line Likud party’s positions are more popular.

Nabil Abu Rdeneh, an adviser to Palestinian President Yasser Arafat, told news services of the election decision, “What we are interested in right now is an Israeli government which is committed to the peace process, because the current government has failed in achieving peace and stability in the region.”