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Sharon Clinging to Power After Collapse of His Coalition Government
Aired October 31, 2002 - 05:32 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: We want to turn our attention now to Israel's political turmoil. Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is clinging to power today after the collapse of his coalition government.
Jerrold Kessel joins us live from Jerusalem to tell us about that -- Jerrold, bring us up to date.
JERROLD KESSEL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Carol, you know, not really clinging to power. He still is very much in power, Ariel Sharon. It was the breakdown of the national unity government, but it's the Labor Party that's departed from that government, having voted against the first reading of the state government bill, objecting to too much money, Labor said, being given to the Jewish settlements in the West Bank and Gaza.
But Mr. Sharon is the man in power. He is, he says he's going to soldier on with a new government made up not of this center right hodgepodge national coalition government, but really a more authentic right-wing government with the far right being brought in. That's what he aims to do. He may be able to cobble together that kind of coalition, which will keep him, keep his government away from elections for at least several months.
But most people believe that even if he is able to do so, eventually Israel will have to go to an early election, some time next year, probably around the spring time. But anyway, an election is on the cards back down in October of next year. But Mr. Sharon still a man in the hot seat and the man in power -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Well, Jerrold, does the Labor Party's defection mean any change for Israeli policy?
KESSEL: That really is the question and I guess you could say not really because one of the big questions and one of the objections that were leveled against the Labor Party through the 19 months that they were in this national coalition with Mr. Sharon was that they were not -- by the critics of the Labor Party -- that they were not really effective, that they were not really influencing Mr. Sharon's policies, that they were really only a figure leaf, that Foreign Minister Shimon Peres, who spoke so ably abroad, who was able to offer some kind of an alternative avenue to try to get a political process with the Palestinians going, that was really only a cover for Mr. Sharon's policies, and it was Mr. Sharon's policies that were the ones that were guiding Israel.
I think it's true to say that whether that's true or not in the past, now you have Ariel Sharon with all these policies and he has naked intentions of Mr. Sharon out in the open. He is the man in power. He is calling all the shots. The policy is unlikely to change very, very much -- Carol.
COSTELLO: All right, Jerrold Kessel, thanks.
Reporting live from Jerusalem.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
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Aired October 31, 2002 - 05:32 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: We want to turn our attention now to Israel's political turmoil. Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is clinging to power today after the collapse of his coalition government.
Jerrold Kessel joins us live from Jerusalem to tell us about that -- Jerrold, bring us up to date.
JERROLD KESSEL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Carol, you know, not really clinging to power. He still is very much in power, Ariel Sharon. It was the breakdown of the national unity government, but it's the Labor Party that's departed from that government, having voted against the first reading of the state government bill, objecting to too much money, Labor said, being given to the Jewish settlements in the West Bank and Gaza.
But Mr. Sharon is the man in power. He is, he says he's going to soldier on with a new government made up not of this center right hodgepodge national coalition government, but really a more authentic right-wing government with the far right being brought in. That's what he aims to do. He may be able to cobble together that kind of coalition, which will keep him, keep his government away from elections for at least several months.
But most people believe that even if he is able to do so, eventually Israel will have to go to an early election, some time next year, probably around the spring time. But anyway, an election is on the cards back down in October of next year. But Mr. Sharon still a man in the hot seat and the man in power -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Well, Jerrold, does the Labor Party's defection mean any change for Israeli policy?
KESSEL: That really is the question and I guess you could say not really because one of the big questions and one of the objections that were leveled against the Labor Party through the 19 months that they were in this national coalition with Mr. Sharon was that they were not -- by the critics of the Labor Party -- that they were not really effective, that they were not really influencing Mr. Sharon's policies, that they were really only a figure leaf, that Foreign Minister Shimon Peres, who spoke so ably abroad, who was able to offer some kind of an alternative avenue to try to get a political process with the Palestinians going, that was really only a cover for Mr. Sharon's policies, and it was Mr. Sharon's policies that were the ones that were guiding Israel.
I think it's true to say that whether that's true or not in the past, now you have Ariel Sharon with all these policies and he has naked intentions of Mr. Sharon out in the open. He is the man in power. He is calling all the shots. The policy is unlikely to change very, very much -- Carol.
COSTELLO: All right, Jerrold Kessel, thanks.
Reporting live from Jerusalem.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
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