Supporters of former Finance Minister Minister Binyamin (Bibi) Netanyahu have admitted that Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has turned the tables and no longer is trailing in the campaign for when to hold the leadership vote. A poll released Friday by Israel Radio reveals the contest is a toss-up.
The Netanyahu camp confessed that Sharon is basking in the limelight with a polished world image as a peacemaker and has pulled the rabbit out of Netanyahu's hat. "However, the party members are in Israel and not in the United States," said Netanyahu backer Uri Frej. "We have hard-core support and are working hard on those who are sitting on the fence."
Likud MK Michael Ratzon accused Sharon of abandoning the Likud in his Thursday night speech to the United Nations General Assembly. "Sharon basically gave in to the left-wing parties in Israel.... He is the left," he said.
Labor party members praised Sharon's speech. Housing Minister Yitzchak Herzog went so far as to state that the prime minister laid out a "possible platform for continued cooperation" with the Labor party.
Regardless of Sharon's media success, the Sharon camp is not assuming victory and fears last minute pressure from Netanyahu's backers to tilt the scales for early primaries. The Likud Central Committee will vote on the date for the primaries at its meeting September 25-26.
The Netanyahu camp, joined by supporters of outspoken Likud loyalist MK Dr. Uzi Landau, has rejected a proposal by the prime minister's son and Likud MK, Omri Sharon, that the Central Committee vote be electronic instead of by ballot box. They fear that the Sharon camp will use an electronic vote, which gives on-line results as votes are cast, in order to make deals if the voting leans toward an early election date.
"We are not patsies. We don't trust Omri Sharon," said a top aide to Landau.
The Netanyahu camp confessed that Sharon is basking in the limelight with a polished world image as a peacemaker and has pulled the rabbit out of Netanyahu's hat. "However, the party members are in Israel and not in the United States," said Netanyahu backer Uri Frej. "We have hard-core support and are working hard on those who are sitting on the fence."
Likud MK Michael Ratzon accused Sharon of abandoning the Likud in his Thursday night speech to the United Nations General Assembly. "Sharon basically gave in to the left-wing parties in Israel.... He is the left," he said.
Labor party members praised Sharon's speech. Housing Minister Yitzchak Herzog went so far as to state that the prime minister laid out a "possible platform for continued cooperation" with the Labor party.
Regardless of Sharon's media success, the Sharon camp is not assuming victory and fears last minute pressure from Netanyahu's backers to tilt the scales for early primaries. The Likud Central Committee will vote on the date for the primaries at its meeting September 25-26.
The Netanyahu camp, joined by supporters of outspoken Likud loyalist MK Dr. Uzi Landau, has rejected a proposal by the prime minister's son and Likud MK, Omri Sharon, that the Central Committee vote be electronic instead of by ballot box. They fear that the Sharon camp will use an electronic vote, which gives on-line results as votes are cast, in order to make deals if the voting leans toward an early election date.
"We are not patsies. We don't trust Omri Sharon," said a top aide to Landau.