Lebanon, Syria say election shows Israel does not want peace

Ariel Sharon's widely expected continuation as prime minister of Israel makes it clear Israeli voters do not want peace in the Middle East and prefer only the candidate who is most hostile to Arabs, Lebanon's prime minister and Syrian media said Tuesday.

The comments from Syrian official newspapers and Lebanon's Prime Minister Rafik Hariri came as Israelis voted Tuesday in elections expected to be handily won by Sharon's Likud party

Hariri said in a speech to the Lebanese parliament that the high expectation of a right-wing victory means "the idea of peace has been folded in Israel and the competition between candidates is [based] on he who is more hostile to the Palestinian brothers and Arabs in general."

Prospects of a 'secular coalition'

One of the coalition options discussed during the past few weeks is forming a so-called secular government comprising the Likud, Labor, and Shinui.

The logic of such a government was only reinforced by Tuesday's election results; any coalition that includes the three biggest parties begins life with a far more stable base than one dependent on a variety of smaller parties

In addition, all three parties roughly occupy, in varying degrees of Right and Left, the same ideological middle ground on security issues. That would give Prime Minister Ariel Sharon far greater diplomatic maneuverability than he would enjoy in a narrow right-wing government if eventually forced by international pressure to negotiate with the Palestinians

But what would be the political benefits and drawbacks of such a coalition for its members? And what are the odds that it could come together in the first place?

A secular coalition would clearly be a triumph for Shinui but it would be no failure if it remained in opposition. In contrast, Sharon would be taking a real political risk in setting up such a government, and in joining it Labor might end up largely benefiting Shinui at its own expense.
The bottom line: On political considerations, a narrow right-wing government seems a safer bet at the present time. The likelihood of a secular coalition seems at least one more election away.