This may actually be a positive developement. It possibly is the realization by the secular politicos that their star is in decline and that Observant Jews are becoming a demographic force.
The only reason for these types of statements by Sharon, et al, is because there is a tidal wave of observant Jews coming towards them. It is completely Israeli to try to change the rules of the game by these sorts of statments and attacks on the fundamentals of Judaism. Sharon is hardly the first Israeli leader to attack his observant brethren. With the birth of every new baby to a religious household, the old guard is viewing its own marginalization.