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The Prime Minister sweats it out on the Likud convention podium.
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| By israelinsider staff August 20, 2004 |
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The Manhigut Yehudit (Jewish Leadership) faction in the Likud, headed by Moshe Feiglin, has called on Prime Minister Sharon to quit in the wake of the latest in a string of political defeats in the ruling Likud party. "A leader who acts in such a brazen, lowly and dictatorial manner should resign," Feiglin said in an interview with Arutz Sheva.
"Sharon has failed five electoral tests in his party, the party expressed no-confidence in him each time, and yet he is still trying to implement the agenda of the Left instead of the nationalist camp," Feiglin said. "I call upon him to resign, and I think the time has come for him to realize his place is not in the Likud."
Feiglin told Arutz Sheva that he sought to lower his own profile, and that of the party faction he leads, so as not to detract from the party-wide opposition to Sharon's plans to negotiate with the opposition Labor party to create a national unity coalition. "I received many requests to be interviewed on television, etc., but I turned them down. The media and some in the Likud were trying to portray this as a fight between Sharon and Manhigut Yehudit, when in fact it was really Sharon vs. his party. It's now clear that Sharon does not have a party, and that he's fighting the whole Likud, including us."
At the same time, Feiglin stress that Manhigut Yehudit's numerical contribution to the defeat of Sharon's intentions to bring in Labor was decisive. "First of all, Sharon's proposal - which lost by only a few votes - would certainly have passed if not for us, and this would have allowed him to do whatever he wants. In addition, Minister [Uzi] Landau's proposal might also not have passed."
Feiglin dismissed those who were trying to downplay the significance of Sharon's rejection by the Likud Central Committee. "There are those, especially in the Sharon camp, who now say that this wasn't such an important victory, and that the Knesset is the body that counts, and not the Central Committee. But whoever saw the tremendous efforts the Sharon camp put in yesterday in order to win - including, unfortunately, some dirty tricks - would realize how important it was for him to win. This vote that shows clearly that he and a few aides around him are alone, running the party and the country by themselves, without a party behind him... Yes, he could go against the vote, as he did with the referendum vote on the disengagement, but he now has very little legitimacy to do so.""
In response to a question from Arutz Sheva about support for disengagement by Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom and other top ministers in the Sharon government, Feiglin said that they would need to obey the party's previous rulings or find themselves another party. " I believe [Shalom] is representing only himself when he says that, because the Likud voters voted clearly against [disengagement] in the referendum in May, and the membership voted down a Palestinian state."
Feiglin said the possibility that Sharon and his supporters would create a new party was destined to failure: "History has shown that even people like David Ben-Gurion, and more recently like Roni Milo or others who leave their parties and try to form new ones, do not succeed. What makes a leader is to have a ruling party - and the ruling party is with us. The strength of the Likud is that it represents much of Israeli society; if Livni and even Sharon leave and form their own party, they will receive only 3-4 Knesset seats. The Likud will suffer a small blow, but will quickly recover from it. We must realize this."
Feiglin also supported steps to force Likud officials to follow the party line. He said that another Likud Central Committee convention would take place in another few weeks, in which the party members will debate and vote on a resolution to bar members who disobey Central Committee rulings from representing the party in subsequent elections.
Sharon unmoved by humiliation
The Prime Minister, beginning a 10 day vacation at his Sycamore Ranch in southern Israel, said that he would push ahead with his talks with the Labor party, as well his disengagement plans, despite the rejection of both by his party. "When he comes back from his vacation, you will see Sharon proceed with full force toward bringing about unilateral disengagement and a national unity government," an aide to the Prime Minister said. "He will respect the results of the convention, but he will do what is right for Israel. The five-vote margin that voted down Sharon's proposal will not decide the future of the state."
Landau, however, who has successfully led the charge against the Prime Minister's moves, said Sharon will not be able to obtain a Knesset majority for a national unity government, because Knesset Members from the Likud would not dare to defy the convention members who will decide whether they are re-elected. "The overwhelming majority of Likud convention members endorsed their ideology against their leader's wishes, despite efforts to delegitimize them," Landau told The Jerusalem Post.
"They are the majority and the MKs will have to listen to them. It will be harder for Sharon to ignore the Likud now, because the MKs will not let him," Landau said.
Seeking to avert a division of the party, Former Likud MK Zalman Shoval, a member of the Central Committee, submitted a conciliatory proposal to the convention Likud chairmen calling for another convention to be held as soon as possible that would endorse Sharon's right to expand the coalition without bringing in Labor.
"This compromise would prevent the slippery slope toward a split in the party, while allowing the prime minister to widen the government without Labor," Shoval said. "Sharon shouldn't try to bring in Labor by force. He should work for a compromise instead."
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