Sharon gears up for big fight
2004-03-29 14:16
Jerusalem - Israel's battle-hardened warrior Ariel Sharon is facing the fight of his political life, with a corruption scandal threatening to bring him down just as he approaches the defining moment of his premiership.
As Sharon holds a crunch meeting with US President George W Bush in the middle of April, to secure backing for his plans to pull out of the Gaza Strip, the attorney general will be finalising a decision that the premier's opponents hope could leave the whole project stillborn.
His deputy, Ehud Olmert, insisted on Monday that there was not "the slightest doubt. Sharon will continue to be prime minister".
But other members of his cabinet are warning that he will have no option but to quit if charged with receiving bribes from a contractor who has already been indicted on charges of trying to bribe Sharon's son Gilad in exchange for their help in securing a major Greek property deal.
A final decision from attorney general Menachem Mazuz is expected in about a month.
Realm
"In the public realm, the die has been cast: Sharon is not worthy of continuing in his position," said an editorial in the left-leaning Haaretz on Monday.
"The moral flaw he has revealed is leading to the collapse of his standing within his party, in the eyes of the international community, especially the United States, and of course, within the Israeli public."
But others warned against writing off a man who holds the highest office in the land two decades after he was forced to step down as defence minister after being criticised in an official inquiry into the massacre of Palestinian refugees in Lebanon during the Israeli army's invasion.
"Ariel Sharon is working under battle-like conditions. No one is better than he in situations like this. He is not even remotely close to giving up," said the Maariv daily.
The Greek Island affair has been simmering in the background for many months but it now threatens to boil over and scald Sharon as he prepares for his eighth but most vital trip so far to the White House.
Sharon has said that he will not proceed with his Gaza pullout unless he receives the backing of his traditional allies in Washington who have so far withheld their support. He has staked his reputation on its success, burning his bridges with his traditional right-wing supporters in the process.
The Israeli analyst Gerald Steinberg said that Sharon was "already damaged goods".
While he would try and tough it out if indicted, "his coalition will be crippled".
Yossi Sarid, a deputy for the left-wing Meretz party, said Sharon had to step aside as he could not concentrate on the leadership at the same time as fighting a battle through the courts.
"Sharon is not Superman and he cannot do two things at once - run the country and run a legal battle trying to clear his name," said Sarid.