Israeli politics go on without Sharon

JERUSALEM, Jan. 10 (JTA) � Israel is resigning itself to politics without Ariel Sharon. Shock gripped the Jewish state last week when Sharon was hospitalized with a massive stroke, turning to fears for the worst when he underwent repeated surgery under deep sedation.

Doctors began bringing the prime minister out of his induced coma Monday. Sharon reportedly was able to breathe on his own and showed slight movement in his right arm and leg in response to stimuli.

�This was a clear reaction to pain, not a reflex,� said Dr. Felix Umansky, head of the team that has operated on Sharon three times to stem bleeding in his brain since his Jan. 4 stroke.

On Tuesday, Sharon reportedly demonstrated movement in his left side as well, and his breathing was more independent.

�These are neurological changes that show slight improvement in Prime Minister Ariel Sharon�s brain functioning,� Hadassah Hospital director Dr. Shlomo Mor-Yosef said Tuesday, according to Ha�aretz.

Doctors said it would be several days before it was clear whether Sharon had suffered any cognitive damage or paralysis.

Still, a prognosis took shape whereby Sharon could survive, but in a form of forced retirement. Sharon�s chief surgeon, Dr. Jose Cohen, said Sharon had a �very high� chance of surviving.

�He is a very strong man, and he is getting the best care,� the Jerusalem Post quoted Cohen as saying. �He will not continue to be prime minister, but maybe he will be able to understand and to speak.�

Sharon�s sons spoke to him Tuesday and he responded with an increase in blood pressure, doctors said.

Omri Sharon on Tuesday thanked the public and the medical staff that had treated his father.

As the prime minister lay in a post-operative coma Sunday, his temporary replacement, acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, chaired the weekly Cabinet meeting.

�We hope that the prime minister will recover, gain strength, and with God�s help, will return to run the government of Israel and lead the State of Israel,� Olmert said.

While noting that doctors� reports from Jerusalem�s Hadassah-Hebrew University Medical Center at Ein Kerem had given a �glimmer of hope� as to Sharon�s chances of recuperating, Olmert said matters of state were as robust as ever.

�We will continue to fulfill Arik�s will, and to run things as he wished,� he said, using Sharon�s nickname. �Israeli democracy is strong, and all of the systems are working in a stable, serious and responsible manner. This is just as it should be, and how it shall continue.�

With general elections looming on March 28, Olmert has his hands full. But he received an early show of support with a weekend phone call from U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

There was also an internal reprieve from the Likud, which decided against resigning from the government, reversing a decision made before Sharon suffered his stroke last week.

�Now is not the time for such moves,� Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom, one of four Cabinet members from the Likud, told Army Radio.

A Channel 10 television survey issued after Sharon took ill predicted that his new centrist party, Kadima, would take 40 of the Knesset�s 120 seats in the election if it is led by Olmert.

But analysts suggested the showing reflected short-term public sympathy. Ha�aretz�s political correspondent, Aluf Benn, recalled the aftermath of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin�s assassination in 1995, when opinion polls showed his successor, Shimon Peres, as a clear favorite for re-election. In the end, Benjamin Netanyahu defeated Peres by the slimmest of margins.

�Instead of presenting himself as pressing ahead with Rabin�s path, Peres made the mistake of insisting that he was an autonomous candidate,� Benn said, suggesting Olmert was wise to portray himself as a reluctant stand-in for Sharon.

Yet the Channel 10 survey found that Peres, should he lead Kadima, would perform better than Olmert, taking 42 Knesset seats.

Though Peres quit Labor last year to back Sharon, he has yet to formally join Kadima. But he voiced support for Olmert.

�He supported the policies of Mr. Sharon and even occasionally was ahead of him,� Peres told Britain�s Sky television. �The policies for peace, the continuation of the policies of Sharon, will have my full support.�