Election talk is in the air once again. In light of heavy objections by Labor and Shas to the proposed budget, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has let it be known that if the budget does not pass its first Knesset reading, he will call early elections. The elections are currently scheduled for November 2003, but Sharon has the right to resign, disperse the Knesset, and call new elections 90 days later. Sharon fears that Labor will resign from the national unity government in protest of the budget, thus allowing it to "score points" for the upcoming election campaign.