I am not normally overly concerned about the health of individual politicians, but Ariel Sharon had shown great courage of late in the search for a solution to the perpetual Israeli-Palestinian crisis and his leadership is vastly more important than most. I hope his stroke is indeed “minor,” as Haaretz is reporting.
UPDATE: Arik seems to be okay - “I feel fine,” Sharon was quoted as saying by aides. Israeli television said he had quipped to doctors: “You’re not getting rid of me yet.”
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6 Comments
1. jonathan riley:: Sharon had shown great courage of late
no kidding, and i hope he can use some of that courage to get over this setback to his health.
Dec 18, 2005 - 12:07 pm 2. Terrye:Roger:
He is in his late 70’s and things like this are bound to happen. I hope this is a minor stroke and medication can deal with the problem, but Israel needs a new Sharon..as if he could be replaced.
Dec 18, 2005 - 12:25 pm 3. dougf:This should probably serve as a ‘warning’ to the New Party that a formal leadership structure is vitally important.
Israeli politics are at least from my perspective, largely dysfunctional, in that they are driven by individual personalities more so than by vision and plans.
What Sharon should do soonest is establish a formal ‘chain of command’ within the Party so that the electorate knows who would follow up should he be unable to manage in the future. Now is precisely the time for him to do this as no-one in the Party could possibly oppose his choices. The Party IS Sharon, but the vision is Israel’s . He should act to protect his ideas now while he has the total authority to do so.
Otherwise if anything happens to him, everything likely falls apart in the usual squabbling infant game that infests Israeli political life.
Dec 18, 2005 - 1:08 pm 4. Allison:Hey Roger,
Things look pretty good. According to the Israel news broadcasts, all of his tests are clear and he’s shmoozing with his aides and even talking to reporters. A TV reporter said he just spoke to him and Sharon said it looks like he needed to take a couple of days off.
Dec 18, 2005 - 2:05 pm 5. mikem:“I am not normally overly concerned about the health of individual politicians…”
And thanks for taking the time to say so.
Dec 18, 2005 - 10:23 pm 6. scott:Best wishes for Arik:his country needs him greatly.As someone who is planning to drop some pounds(ol’ New Year’s resolution),I hope he’ll do the same,and make it to 100.
Dec 19, 2005 - 7:32 am