What Direction for Israel After Sharon?
The Guardian reports that doctors rule out a return to office for Arial Sharon, should he survive.
Ariel Sharon's political career was at an end last night as he remained on life support after hours of surgery to stop "massive and widespread" bleeding in his brain. Political leaders publicly offered statements of support for Mr Sharon, but there was a growing acceptance that, even if he were to survive, the 77-year-old former general would not return to office. Doctors said the Israeli prime minister would struggle to recover from the stroke.
The Guardian's Jonathan Spyer says Sharon will leave "The Biggest Shoes to Fill."
As world leaders react to the health crisis of Ariel Sharon, the New York Times analyzes the hurdles ahead for Kadima, his new and centrist party. The main question seems to be, is Acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert up to the task of replacing him?
Arianna, who has met Olmert in a small setting and heard him speak, thinks he is.
....Fearless, pragmatic, willing to risk his and his party's political future to do the right thing for his country.
Olmert blogged at HuffPo about Kadima and how it would move Israel forward.
Eric Alterman at Altercation sounds less sure:
Ehud Olmert has always impressed me with his political savvy but he lacks sufficient charisma to carry an entire party. Peres belongs (thankfully) to history. Netanyahu would be another Bush: corrupt, incompetent and ideologically extremist. The best thing about Sharon’s party was its potential to marginalize that element of the right, particularly those driven by dreams of the messiah’s return and the expulsion of a million or so Palestinians from the future Palestine. Meanwhile, polls do not give any indication of Labor’s trust level rising high enough to reach beyond its shrinking base.
I found this article helpful tonight in trying to learn more about Sharon, the conflict and the ramifications of his loss as a leader. Here's a bio of Sharon. And here is what is described as "The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict in a Nutshell."
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