Ariel Sharon leave Likud, starts new Party

[Astronuc]

Sharon Registers New Party As 'Forward'
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051124/ap_on_re_mi_ea/israel_politics;_ylt=ArZ.lfH28wAUwTwuAgY0R2cLewgF;_ylu=X3oDMTBjMHVqMTQ4BHNlYwN5bnN1YmNhdA--

JERUSALEM - Ariel Sharon's fledgling political party officially registered itself under the name "Forward" on Thursday, ending three days of indecision since the prime minister quit his hard-line Likud Party to set up a new centrist group.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kadima_(Israel)

What does this mean for the policy with respect to the West Bank, Gaza and Palestine, and the various Arab neighbors?

 

[Astronuc]

Peres Quits Labor Party to Back Sharon

JERUSALEM (AP) - Bitter over his ouster as Labor Party chief, Shimon Peres quit his political home of six decades Wednesday to campaign for Ariel Sharon's new party, saying the prime minister is the best choice to lead Israel to peace with the Palestinians.

Peres' defection was an important coup for Sharon in the scramble by the major parties to recruit high-profile supporters during a political realignment the past three weeks as the country prepares for parliamentary elections in March.

Many Israelis respect Peres, an 82-year-old former prime minister, as an elder statesman and peacemaker, but they remain wary of his dovish politics.

His resignation from Labor could contribute to the view that he is a political opportunist. Peres also brings with him a reputation as a perennial loser at the polls who led Labor to five electoral defeats and lost a race this month to lead the party into a sixth election.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051130/ap_on_re_mi_ea/israel_politics_14;_ylt=AglkLXPBTzXwpLHgR.01c0LuyucA;_ylu=X3oDMTBiMW04NW9mBHNlYwMlJVRPUCUl

So the right and left join in the center?

It would be cool if the moderate Republicans and Democrats quit and formed a Centrist party in the US.

 

[Yonoz]

I doubt Sharon's policy will be any different now. It seems that to most politicians parties are just vessels. Sharon is trying to reap the fruits of his disengagement plan, in order to succeed where many others have failed: forming a (lasting) centrist party. This is not his first attempt at it, and it seems conditions are ripe: a fresh poll shows Kadima with 37 seats in the Knesset, mostly at the expense of Likkud and Shinui (a centrist, anti-religious party) and a little at the expense of Labour.
What is much more promising is the apparent resuscitation of the Labour party by Amir Peretz. His outspoken belief in the welfare state has earned him some fresh allies, including a very well respected (now former) female journalist, former world-bank executive and Ben-Gurion University president Prof. Avishay Braverman, the usual entourage of former military officials and several public figures. Personally I hope this will put the Labour party back where it should be as a workers' party, and am considering voting for them in the next elections.
There is another reason for this outspokeness. Peretz is considered very dovish - he was one of the founders of the "Peace Now" movements and was once associated with Yossi Beilin, which most Israelis love to hate. I suppose that will be attacked by Sharon's campaign as the elections approach.