The Knesset voted not to dissolve itself and hold new
general elections. Former prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu
announced that he will not run for prime minister since he
would be unable to form a workable government with the
current Knesset, and will also not run against Arik Sharon
for leadership of the Likud.
The Knesset voted against general elections by 69 to 49,
with the support of Shas and One Israel.
The so-called Netanyahu amendment was passed by 65 to 45
with four abstentions, enabling a non-Knesset member to
stand for prime minister in these special elections.
However, well before the vote Netanyahu announced firmly
that he was not interested in the "strange law named for
him."
Elections will now be held on February 6 for prime minister
only, with Ehud Barak facing Likud leader Ariel Sharon.
Regional Cooperation Minister Shimon Peres may also run and
make the election a three-way fight.
Recent polls which indicate that Peres is the left-wing
candidate with most support have encouraged the former prime
minister, who would need the backing of 10 MKs from a single
faction in order to submit his candidacy. The polls indicate
that if Peres enters a three-way race with Barak and Sharon,
he will move through to a second round showdown with Sharon,
while the prime minister will be knocked out in the first
round.
Arik Sharon, leader of the Likud since Netanyahu withdrew
from politics after the last elections, leads Barak in the
polls but his margin is much smaller than Netanyahu's and
his chances of winning are much more uncertain. Sharon is
much older than Barak, and is thought to be less
moderate.
"Everyone knows that I could win," Netanyahu said, but
insisted that the country's benefit is more important. "I
have put all personal considerations aside," he maintained.
Netanyahu argues that general Knesset elections are a
necessity and will take place in a few months if not right
now, so that it is clearly in the country's interest to hold
them as soon as possible.
MK Yuval Steinitz, a close confidant of Netanyahu, said that
he tried to convince him to run even in a special ballot
only for prime minister, but that Netanyahu refused to
reconsider.
Shas warned that the country would be sent into a "tailspin"
if confronted with an all-out election campaign amid the
current security crisis. Shas chairman MK Eli Yishai said
the party preferred a Likud candidate for prime minister
over Labor incumbent Ehud Barak, but that it did not make a
difference who the right-wing challenger would be.
Some Shas party sources said that they disliked the
perception that they had fallen prey to "a Barak trick," and
played into the hands of his desire to keep Netanyahu out of
the race.
It is widely believed that Shas would not gain the same 17
seats that it has in the current Knesset if new elections
were held soon. Labor (One Israel) is also expected to
decline. Thus these two parties have a strong interest in
continuing with the current Knesset.
Chareidi leaders criticized Shas for not using their clout
to ensure passage of legislation regularizing the position
of yeshiva students. UTJ politicians were surprised and
disappointed that they have been fighting for action on this
front alone, while Shas has been concerned primarily with
its own party interests. According to their assessments, the
issue of drafting yeshiva students is tangential to the
interests of most parties and it could have been pressed
with the weight of Shas to a resolution. Though Shas has
generally supported the position of the chareidi community
on this issue, it has not thrown its weight behind it.
Trying to head off any possibility of competition for prime
minister, Barak sent Meretz leader MK Yossi Sarid on a peace
mission to Egypt.
The Prime Minister's Office announced that Sarid would be
going to Cairo in the coming days to hold talks on Barak's
behalf with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.
The mission will take place even as the Meretz executive is
to meet on whether to field a peace candidate for prime
minister. Meretz leader Sarid is a possibility for this, as
is Regional Cooperation Minister Peres.
Barak plans to use private advisers to run his elections
campaign, and there is criticism of him within his party for
that.
Also, the Knesset will stay in session until the end of next
week while it tries to enact voting reform before recessing
for the upcoming election.
The recess was due to begin last Wednesday, but was
postponed to enable legislation to cancel the system of
direct prime ministerial elections to conclude its 14-day
waiting period before it can be approved in the plenum.
Supporters of the initiative to revert to the single ballot
system reached an understanding with Knesset Speaker Avraham
Burg, who also supports the proposal, on delaying the
recess.
