The two Likud Knesset members, who have declared their intentions to run for head of the Likud party, are demanding that the party’s primary elections be moved up to November, in order to preempt Sharon from bolting the Likud near the time of the general election. A general election is scheduled to be held in November 2006.
In their joint letter, the two MK’s who are both vying for the top party post said, “Despite the fact that we are running separately for the head of the Likud, we turn to you jointly, calling on you to vote for November primaries in order to send a clear message: the Likud is opposed to the withdrawal policies of Sharon…moving up the primaries will send a clear message that Likud central committee members refuse to serve as a subcontractor for executing the policies of Peres and Beilin…”
Landau and Netanyahu accuse Sharon of using the Likud as a springboard for establishing his own party near the date of the general election. They claim that Sharon is trying to “play for time,” in the Likud, adding that Sharon does not want to start his party too early for fear that the public would lose interest in it before the election.
The Likud central committee will be meeting next week in order to vote on the issue of when to schedule the primaries. In the meantime, Sharon’s Likud rivals say the reason he has been staying on in New York has been to raise campaign money in the U.S.
Sharon has already met with Yoram Oren, a businessman whose name has been associated with the scandal surrounding the prime minister’s previous campaign to lead the Likud party, which took place after Binyamin Netanyahu lost the race for prime minister to Ehud Barak in 1999.
Sharon has also been meeting with leading press figures. Last night, he had dinner with mega-publisher Rupert Murdoch, and is scheduled to meet with Mort Zuckerman, who edits and publishes U.S. News and World Report.
Political analysts say that such meetings are preparing the ground for the fundraising Sharon will need to get his new party started.
As Sharon prepares for his re-election campaign, Landau and Netanyahu are working frantically to win the upcoming vote in the Likud central committee. Both sides admit that the race is still too close to call.
In their joint letter, the two MK’s who are both vying for the top party post said, “Despite the fact that we are running separately for the head of the Likud, we turn to you jointly, calling on you to vote for November primaries in order to send a clear message: the Likud is opposed to the withdrawal policies of Sharon…moving up the primaries will send a clear message that Likud central committee members refuse to serve as a subcontractor for executing the policies of Peres and Beilin…”
Landau and Netanyahu accuse Sharon of using the Likud as a springboard for establishing his own party near the date of the general election. They claim that Sharon is trying to “play for time,” in the Likud, adding that Sharon does not want to start his party too early for fear that the public would lose interest in it before the election.
The Likud central committee will be meeting next week in order to vote on the issue of when to schedule the primaries. In the meantime, Sharon’s Likud rivals say the reason he has been staying on in New York has been to raise campaign money in the U.S.
Sharon has already met with Yoram Oren, a businessman whose name has been associated with the scandal surrounding the prime minister’s previous campaign to lead the Likud party, which took place after Binyamin Netanyahu lost the race for prime minister to Ehud Barak in 1999.
Sharon has also been meeting with leading press figures. Last night, he had dinner with mega-publisher Rupert Murdoch, and is scheduled to meet with Mort Zuckerman, who edits and publishes U.S. News and World Report.
Political analysts say that such meetings are preparing the ground for the fundraising Sharon will need to get his new party started.
As Sharon prepares for his re-election campaign, Landau and Netanyahu are working frantically to win the upcoming vote in the Likud central committee. Both sides admit that the race is still too close to call.