With recent polls predicting electoral disaster for the Labor party, veteran party leader Shimon Peres, who has been burned more than once by optimistic polls just prior to his electoral defeat, has told reporters that he's not impressed by polls. "In every election that I remember, the outcome was determined in the last two weeks. The number of undecided voters is rising," he told the Israeli daily Yediot Acharonot.
Labor Party leader candidate Amram Mitzna met this morning with Peres, a Labor party stalwart for over 50 years and the chief architect of the Oslo Accords. The two discussed strategy in light of Labor's poor standing, and afterwards, Peres stood aside Mitzna to declare his support for the latter's controversial "Sharon or us" campaign strategy. Mitzna unveiled that policy two days ago when he declared that the Labor party would under no circumstances join a government led by Prime Minister Ariel Sharon after the election. Political analysts say that the new strategy has contributed to a further weakening in the Labor party's standing in the polls. Polls published this morning show Labor dipping to 20 seats or below, in Israel's 120-seat Knesset, with rival Likud gaining up to 34 seats - up from 30 last week.
Pollster Mina Tzemach of the Dahaf Institute reported today that 51% of the public is in favor of a national unity government after the elections, while 43% are opposed.
The Likud's renewed strength has been particularly disturbing for Labor, as it comes after a wave of negative media reports detailing both alleged corruption in the Likud primaries and accusations that Sharon accepted illegal campaign contributions disguised as loans to his sons. As the charges began picking up steam, the Likud actually started flagging in the polls - until a press conference that Sharon called to rebut the charges last Thursday night was abruptly interrupted, by order of Elections Commission head Judge Mishael Heshin. Heshin explained that this was in order to comply with the law - which he himself criticized as being "unenforceable" - banning the broadcast of electoral propaganda two months before an election.
Some observers feel that this decision may have contributed to a backlash of support for the Prime Minister and his beleaguered party, leading to the Likud's improved standing in the polls. The polls also show that a Likud-led, right-leaning bloc would command 64-65 seats, enough to form a coalition without Shinui, a centrist-left party anti-religious party that may win up to 15 Knesset seats. Shinui leader Tommy Lapid has declared repeatedly that he will not join a coalition that includes hareidi parties.
Peres, defending Mitzna's decision not to join a unity government under Sharon, said, "All the talk about a national unity government without the religious parties has no chance in the world. It's the media's agenda, a balloon." His remarks emphasized the possibility of a Likud-led religious-right coalition. "Don't invent a virtual reality," he told reporters. "There's no chance that the Likud will break away from the religious parties."
In contrast to the Likud's resurgence, today's polls show that the two major Jewish left-wing parties, Labor and Meretz, will have a combined representation of only 28 seats, amounting to an all-time low for the Zionist left since the establishment of Israel 55 years ago. Together with Shinui and the Arab parties, these polls show the left-wing bloc receiving only 56 seats. Analysts, and even Meretz leader MK Yossi Sarid, say that their waning strength is due to the failure of the Oslo process that has led to 28 months of war with Yasser Arafat's Palestinian Authority.
Labor Party leader candidate Amram Mitzna met this morning with Peres, a Labor party stalwart for over 50 years and the chief architect of the Oslo Accords. The two discussed strategy in light of Labor's poor standing, and afterwards, Peres stood aside Mitzna to declare his support for the latter's controversial "Sharon or us" campaign strategy. Mitzna unveiled that policy two days ago when he declared that the Labor party would under no circumstances join a government led by Prime Minister Ariel Sharon after the election. Political analysts say that the new strategy has contributed to a further weakening in the Labor party's standing in the polls. Polls published this morning show Labor dipping to 20 seats or below, in Israel's 120-seat Knesset, with rival Likud gaining up to 34 seats - up from 30 last week.
Pollster Mina Tzemach of the Dahaf Institute reported today that 51% of the public is in favor of a national unity government after the elections, while 43% are opposed.
The Likud's renewed strength has been particularly disturbing for Labor, as it comes after a wave of negative media reports detailing both alleged corruption in the Likud primaries and accusations that Sharon accepted illegal campaign contributions disguised as loans to his sons. As the charges began picking up steam, the Likud actually started flagging in the polls - until a press conference that Sharon called to rebut the charges last Thursday night was abruptly interrupted, by order of Elections Commission head Judge Mishael Heshin. Heshin explained that this was in order to comply with the law - which he himself criticized as being "unenforceable" - banning the broadcast of electoral propaganda two months before an election.
Some observers feel that this decision may have contributed to a backlash of support for the Prime Minister and his beleaguered party, leading to the Likud's improved standing in the polls. The polls also show that a Likud-led, right-leaning bloc would command 64-65 seats, enough to form a coalition without Shinui, a centrist-left party anti-religious party that may win up to 15 Knesset seats. Shinui leader Tommy Lapid has declared repeatedly that he will not join a coalition that includes hareidi parties.
Peres, defending Mitzna's decision not to join a unity government under Sharon, said, "All the talk about a national unity government without the religious parties has no chance in the world. It's the media's agenda, a balloon." His remarks emphasized the possibility of a Likud-led religious-right coalition. "Don't invent a virtual reality," he told reporters. "There's no chance that the Likud will break away from the religious parties."
In contrast to the Likud's resurgence, today's polls show that the two major Jewish left-wing parties, Labor and Meretz, will have a combined representation of only 28 seats, amounting to an all-time low for the Zionist left since the establishment of Israel 55 years ago. Together with Shinui and the Arab parties, these polls show the left-wing bloc receiving only 56 seats. Analysts, and even Meretz leader MK Yossi Sarid, say that their waning strength is due to the failure of the Oslo process that has led to 28 months of war with Yasser Arafat's Palestinian Authority.