The crowds chant "Arik, King of Israel"
when Ariel Sharon appears. They wave copies of Warrior,
the memoirs of his military career. They proclaim:
"Sharon knows how to deal with the Arabs. If they
fire a bullet, he'll respond with a missile."
At 72, a veteran of Israel's five wars, the warrior is
returning to claim his reward. Mr Sharon is fighting his
last campaign, a political battle to replace the
discredited Ehud Barak as Prime Minister.
Barring a miracle, he will be elected to that office on
Tuesday, capping an extraordinary career as soldier and
politician.
For the Israeli left, a nightmare is taking shape. An
Israeli Caesar, regarded as a war criminal by the Arabs,
is about to take power.
For decades the Israeli establishment has regarded Mr
Sharon as a loose cannon whose extraordinary military
talents and well-focused aggression were useful in war but
dangerous in peace time.
Mr Sharon has been buried more times than any Israeli
public figure: in 1973, when he was forced to leave the
army; in 1983, when he was dismissed as defence minister
after the massacre of hundreds of Palestinians in the
Sabra and Shatila refugee camps; and last year, after the
death of his wife, Lilly, and a fire at his farm in the
Negev.
But opinion polls put the right-wing leader up to 21
percentage points ahead of Mr Barak, who forced the pace
of the peace process until it exploded in his face,
leading to almost four months of Palestinian uprising and
400 dead.
The warlike cries of Mr Sharon's supporters are an
embarrassment to his campaign managers, who have
repackaged the old soldier as a benign grandfather.
The official slogan is: "Sharon - a leader for
peace." Posters show him as an intellectual in a
pensive mood. It is all a long way from when he
spearheaded the Israeli counter-attack over the Suez Canal
in the 1973 Yom Kippur war.
"We know who he really is," said Danny
Shiman, a stallholder at a Jerusalem market visited by the
candidate.
During his military career Mr Sharon never dodged a
battle. His victories were accompanied by fierce arguments
with his commanders. But this time he is sauntering to
victory, refusing interviews and avoiding confrontation.
His strategists have said that the election is his to
lose, so he should keep his mouth shut and concentrate on
attracting the centre. This often disappoints the Likud
party faithful.
The Barak campaign is trying to present Mr Sharon as a
militarist who will lead the country into war. The only
issue before the electorate is Mr Sharon's character: is
he still the man who led Israel to war in Lebanon in 1982,
costing 1500 lives, or is he a wiser character whose
ferocious reputation will put fear into the Arabs?
"Labor is trying to make the electorate's fear of
Sharon overcome their disappointment with Barak,"
said leftist political columnist Akiva Eldar. "So
far, there is no sign of this tactic succeeding."
It is not hard to find disaffected Barak supporters who
will vote for Mr Sharon. "I cannot forgive Barak for
continuing to negotiate with the Palestinians while we are
under attack," said London-born Nick Kopaloff, 40.
But for some, it is hard to admit that they plan to
abandon Mr Barak. "They say that if Sharon is elected
there will be war. But what have we got now?" said
23-year-old student Yasmin Kravchik.
(-Telegraph
