Jonathan Freedland reports on the Israeli election and how attempts to reign in Sharon’s corruption actually helped him.
“A fortnight or so ago, the PM [Sharon] was haemorrhaging in the polls amid allegations of undeclared, million-dollar foreign donations. He was under police investigation. To stop the slide, he gave a televised address. By common consent, it was a disaster, with Sharon rambling and aggressive. Halfway through, he was pulled off the air by order of a high court judge, for violating the election law which bars on-air politicking outside the official campaign broadcasts.
Instantly, and curiously, the slide was halted. It turns out that the judge’s decision had helped Sharon, by confirming what many Likud voters have long believed: that the country’s institutions, including the judiciary, are still run by the same condescending, leftwing Ashkenazi elite of old.”
Guardian Unlimited | Special reports | Jonathan Freedland reports on the war within Israel