The hareidi newspapers carried conflicting reports this past weekend about the fear that a secular unity government of Likud-Labor-Shinui might be formed. Some papers said that Labor leader Amram Mitzna's promise not to join a unity government headed by Sharon is enough to allay all such fears, while others said that Labor would most definitely not follow its leader's proclamation and would in fact join a unity government. Political affairs correspondent Menachem Rahat, speaking with Arutz-7 today, sided largely with the second opinion:
"It is certainly too early for the religious community to breathe a sigh of relief. It's dependent on two people: Mitzna and Sharon. Mitzna's promise not to join a unity government is valid up until the moment the election results become known, but not afterwards. It is certainly likely that if Sharon invites him to join the government, he might do so, explaining that even if they can't agree on security issues, they can work together to 'educate' the religious public, etc.
"Neither do I rely on any of Sharon's pre-election statements not to form a secular government. We must keep in mind that this will be his last term in office, such that he will not need anyone afterwards and he might very well do just whatever he pleases - which could be either a left-wing 'peace' gesture, or possibly a move to put down what some see as the growing strength of the religious camp - without fear that the right-wing voters will punish him. He knows that at worst it will be Netanyahu or some other successor who will suffer from this…"
Other observers disagreed, however. They said that Sharon would not take the risk of splitting his own party - which would almost certainly occur if he were to leave the religious and nationalist-camp parties out of the government.
The Likud is once again climbing in the polls, and could now be facing the counter-danger to that it faced in the previous month: complacency. Rahat told Arutz-7 that Labor and Shinui, as well as the National Union and NRP, could be the ones to gain from Likud activists' over-confidence.
"It is certainly too early for the religious community to breathe a sigh of relief. It's dependent on two people: Mitzna and Sharon. Mitzna's promise not to join a unity government is valid up until the moment the election results become known, but not afterwards. It is certainly likely that if Sharon invites him to join the government, he might do so, explaining that even if they can't agree on security issues, they can work together to 'educate' the religious public, etc.
"Neither do I rely on any of Sharon's pre-election statements not to form a secular government. We must keep in mind that this will be his last term in office, such that he will not need anyone afterwards and he might very well do just whatever he pleases - which could be either a left-wing 'peace' gesture, or possibly a move to put down what some see as the growing strength of the religious camp - without fear that the right-wing voters will punish him. He knows that at worst it will be Netanyahu or some other successor who will suffer from this…"
Other observers disagreed, however. They said that Sharon would not take the risk of splitting his own party - which would almost certainly occur if he were to leave the religious and nationalist-camp parties out of the government.
The Likud is once again climbing in the polls, and could now be facing the counter-danger to that it faced in the previous month: complacency. Rahat told Arutz-7 that Labor and Shinui, as well as the National Union and NRP, could be the ones to gain from Likud activists' over-confidence.