Others might explain it better, but it appears the electorate prefers Sharon. I'm a supporter of unilateral withdrawl, clearly that includes Gaza, though I don't like the way it was handled at all. Clearly that wasn't what Sharon ran on in the last election. Would Bibi have been different, maybe, but as I recall he seemed to be more vocal at the end of the process than it's beginning. And Bibi obviously was a supporter of Oslo. I've no reason to doubt the love of country of either, They have the kind of accomplishments in the defence of their country our founders did. And they're both politicians. Bibi can afford to wait.
Thank you. I am still rather stunned to learn Netanyahu isn't as popular as I desire or imagined. He's such a GOOD man.
how many Muslim vote in Israel elections now ?
Bibi also voted for disengagement repeatedly. Then he voted against it. Does this sound familiar in American political terms?
Put simply: Many Israelis do not trust Bibi. His politics change with whatever he thinks will help him gain power at the moment. Ariel Sharon, by contrast, has his history as a General, a man who has fought in all our wars. People trust him not to give too much in the end. People trust his judgement.
There is another factor. Prime Minister Sharon gave Likud it's biggest election victory every. Likud has never had 40 seats in the Knesset before. Netanyahu gave Likud it's biggest election defeat ever, dropping the party to just 19 seats in the previous election. Likud members want to win and Sharon is a big winner in two consecutive elections. Many Likud ministers and MKs will gladly set aside their views to insure they keep their jobs. They are politicians, after all.