ISRAEL: Israeli Prime Minister Mr Ariel Sharon will have been singularly unimpressed when he perused the list of parliamentary candidates chosen yesterday by his centre-right Likud party ahead of national elections on January 28th. All top 10 spots were filled by candidates more hawkish than the Prime Minister and who, unlike him, strenuously oppose the creation of a Palestinian state.
"The vote certainly expresses a very, very clear stance in the Likud, that the idea of establishing a Palestinian state is unacceptable," said Likud Minister Mr Tzachi Hanegbi, who placed first on the list of candidates.
Finance Minister Mr Silvan Shalom, a vociferous proponent of deporting the Palestinian Authority President, Mr Yasser Arafat, placed second.
Several of the candidates who fared well in the primary are loyal to Mr Sharon's main rival in the party, Foreign Minister Mr Benjamin Netanyahu, who has criticised Mr Sharon.
While Mr Sharon is not bound by the list, and will certainly appoint a number of his loyalists to top cabinet positions if re-elected, the hawkish roster of Likud candidates could make it more difficult for him to broadcast a centrist message in the run-up to the election.
It could also shackle him on the diplomatic front if, as polls predict, the Likud forms the government and Mr Sharon hopes to move forward with the Bush administration's plan for phased Palestinian statehood.