December 18, 2004

Labour in Likud clothing?

Here's an interesting article in Ha'aretz on line. Labour have now agreed to join Likud in government. The differences between them are barely discernable but what caught my eye here was what nearly derailed the deal. Sharon called off the talks when chief Labour negotiator MK Dalia Itzik said, "He's running after us, not we after him," she said. "After 30 years, they [Likud] are seeing how right we were... They are contractors implementing [our policies]." It could have been Michael Howard speaking of Blair. But it was an Israeli Labour politician speaking of Sharon. And why not? Sharon is a Labour Zionist by background and nothing in his career suggests that he has changed. Just what Labour policies, that Likud is implementing, was Itzik referring to? The wall? The rapid expansion of settlements? The Gaza "withdrawal" as, in Sharon's words, "a punishment for the Palestinians"? We shall see.

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