Tensions are high in the ruling Likud Party, only a day before a critical Central Committee session that is likely to decide the future of the government. The central question at hand is whether or not to include Labor in the government.
Convention Chairman Yisrael Katz, a Likud Cabinet minister with right-wing leanings, promised last night that the all-important vote would be via secret ballot. MK Omri Sharon, the Prime Minister's son, warned last night of the negative consequences should his father lose the vote - i.e., should the party vote against Labor's inclusion. Sharon the younger has been working ardently to persuade party members to support his father's efforts towards making the government more disengagement-friendly.
Even if the Likud votes against including Labor, however, and even if - as is likely - Sharon ignores the results of the vote, the end result could be new elections. This is true because it will put in sharp relief Sharon's weakness within his party, discourage Labor from joining, and make the formation of a new coalition all but impossible. Labor voices against joining a unity government with the Likud have been intensifying of late.
Close to 3,000 Likud members will gather in Tel Aviv tomorrow night, and Katz has promised that only party members will be allowed to enter, and that observers from both sides will be present at the polling booths.
The two main opponents of Labor's inclusion, Ministers Silvan Shalom and Uzi Landau, met last night to coordinate their strategy. Also present were Deputy Minister Michael Ratzon and MKs Ehud Yatom and Gilad Erdan. Landau sent a personal letter to each of the committee members warning them that turning the government and party leftward by bringing in Labor "would be bad for the country and would cause the Likud to disintegrate." He also listed five other reasons why Labor should be kept in the opposition: "Because we can rule without Labor; because the current government is a good one; because it is against the election choice of the country's citizens [which gave the Likud 40 Knesset seats, and only 19 to Labor]; because this is not unity, but rather a split; because the Prime Minister must honor the party organs, as he himself has said."
The anti-disengagement forces in the Likud wish to ensure that the convention does not become a wild event - and, more importantly, that they are not blamed for it. A leading Jerusalem party activist, Moshe Ifregan, wrote yesterday to his fellow anti-disengagement colleagues on the "Likudnik" website: "Whoever whistles, yells or spews insults, displays weakness and lack of self-restraint. The public is revolted by this, and does not consider such a group worthy of taking responsibility. Ministers, too, distance themselves from us, as they do not want this image... If those who oppose the disengagement come off as a restrained and disciplined group, this will be a true show of strength... "We should sit together, and appoint ten ushers to ensure order. The presence of ushers will show that we are an organized and strong group... When Uzi Landau or another person from our group gets up to speak, we should greet him with great enthusiasm and support. When someone else gets up, including Netanyahu, we should greet him in total silence; they'll die of boredom. When the Prime Minister speaks, we should carry out a quiet but noticeable demonstrative act. Our talk and signs must have sharp content, but in an appropriate manner. Other ideas are welcome..."
A possible compromise proposal in the works is that only a secular Likud-Labor-Shinui government would be ruled out. If a religious party joins together with Labor, however, that would be acceptable. Sharon himself has said several times of late that the latter option is his preferred possibility.
Convention Chairman Yisrael Katz, a Likud Cabinet minister with right-wing leanings, promised last night that the all-important vote would be via secret ballot. MK Omri Sharon, the Prime Minister's son, warned last night of the negative consequences should his father lose the vote - i.e., should the party vote against Labor's inclusion. Sharon the younger has been working ardently to persuade party members to support his father's efforts towards making the government more disengagement-friendly.
Even if the Likud votes against including Labor, however, and even if - as is likely - Sharon ignores the results of the vote, the end result could be new elections. This is true because it will put in sharp relief Sharon's weakness within his party, discourage Labor from joining, and make the formation of a new coalition all but impossible. Labor voices against joining a unity government with the Likud have been intensifying of late.
Close to 3,000 Likud members will gather in Tel Aviv tomorrow night, and Katz has promised that only party members will be allowed to enter, and that observers from both sides will be present at the polling booths.
The two main opponents of Labor's inclusion, Ministers Silvan Shalom and Uzi Landau, met last night to coordinate their strategy. Also present were Deputy Minister Michael Ratzon and MKs Ehud Yatom and Gilad Erdan. Landau sent a personal letter to each of the committee members warning them that turning the government and party leftward by bringing in Labor "would be bad for the country and would cause the Likud to disintegrate." He also listed five other reasons why Labor should be kept in the opposition: "Because we can rule without Labor; because the current government is a good one; because it is against the election choice of the country's citizens [which gave the Likud 40 Knesset seats, and only 19 to Labor]; because this is not unity, but rather a split; because the Prime Minister must honor the party organs, as he himself has said."
The anti-disengagement forces in the Likud wish to ensure that the convention does not become a wild event - and, more importantly, that they are not blamed for it. A leading Jerusalem party activist, Moshe Ifregan, wrote yesterday to his fellow anti-disengagement colleagues on the "Likudnik" website: "Whoever whistles, yells or spews insults, displays weakness and lack of self-restraint. The public is revolted by this, and does not consider such a group worthy of taking responsibility. Ministers, too, distance themselves from us, as they do not want this image... If those who oppose the disengagement come off as a restrained and disciplined group, this will be a true show of strength... "We should sit together, and appoint ten ushers to ensure order. The presence of ushers will show that we are an organized and strong group... When Uzi Landau or another person from our group gets up to speak, we should greet him with great enthusiasm and support. When someone else gets up, including Netanyahu, we should greet him in total silence; they'll die of boredom. When the Prime Minister speaks, we should carry out a quiet but noticeable demonstrative act. Our talk and signs must have sharp content, but in an appropriate manner. Other ideas are welcome..."
A possible compromise proposal in the works is that only a secular Likud-Labor-Shinui government would be ruled out. If a religious party joins together with Labor, however, that would be acceptable. Sharon himself has said several times of late that the latter option is his preferred possibility.