An attempt by Sharon to win the leadership of the Likud ahead of the May 1977 election was unsuccessful, and he formed a small party of his own, Shlomzion ("Peace in Zion").
Born in 1960 to Libyan immigrants, he won considerable popularity in office for freeing up the mobile phone market and championing cheap electricity, and stood down from Likud ahead of the 2013 elections.
Current opinion polls have Likud well ahead of its closest rivals.
Forcing an election now, with the opposition Likud well ahead of Labour in the opinion polls, would be political suicide.So the betting is that he and Mr Olmert will agree to early elections within a year, giving Mr Olmert time to take peace talks with the Palestinians as far as they can go.
WASHINGTON -- Political observers to the left of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are calling a release of bids for the construction of new housing units in West Bank settlements an intentional gambit to boost Netanyahu's Likud party ahead of Israeli elections in mid-March.
Binyamin Netanyahu, leader of the opposition Likud party, is ahead in the polls and widely predicted to be the next prime minister.
While Likud still comes in ahead of all other parties in recent polls, its coalition partners "might not stand the heat in the kitchen of public opinion," Amit Segal, a political correspondent for Israel's Channel 2, told me.
If he called an election, his Likud party is far ahead in the polls, but he would be personally challenged by Binyamin Netanyahu, a former right-wing prime minister.See article: Israel's government collapsesThe Palestinian parliament approved Yasser Arafat's new cabinet, though reformers were disappointed by the modesty of the changes.
Still others that it was a domestic ruse to score points over his rival and potential nemesis, Binyamin Netanyahu, ahead of the Likud primaries in November.Whatever the motive it showed profound misjudgement, not least in Mr Sharon's assessment of the mood in Washington.
The last polls in the election campaign, published on Friday, suggested Herzog's party was continuing to creep ahead of Netanyahu's Likud, with its two-seat lead a week ago doubling to four.
The same poll put Tzipi Livni's Kadima party, which argues for a more vigorous effort to re-engage the Palestinians, ahead of Mr Netanyahu's Likud.
