Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon has quit Likud. Monday, Nov. 21, he asked President Katzav to dissolve the Knesset for an early election. He will run at the head of a new list called Party of National Responsibility, to be launched at 12 noon local time and a news conference Monday 7 pm local time.Sharon informed the president that his government is faced with a hostile Knesset majority and therefore unable to function effectively.
The president will consult with party leaders for a Knesset member able to form an alternative government supported by a 61-member majority. He has 21 days grace before dissolving the Knesset for an early election 90 hence.
Sharon’s aides are assiduously wooing ministers and Knesset members who are still undecided whether to follow the prime minister or stay in Likud. The new party is believed to be supported by 13 Likud lawmakers out of the 40-member party. Half a dozen Likud members led by Binyamin Netanyahu are vying for the party leadership.
The new Labor leader Amir Peretz broke up Sharon’s government coalition by ordering the party’s eight ministers to hand in their resignations Monday and prepare for an early election. The decision was ratified by the Labor central committee Sunday. The partnership held together for 10 months around the common Sharon-Labor goal of evacuating the Gaza Strip. This same goal split Likud irreparably, a large faction declaring war on the party leader prime minister Sharon. Since Peretz’s election two weeks ago, Sharon found his options dwindling sharply. After turning his back on Likud, he has the choice of building a new party to fight the election or retiring