Sharon's Illness Leaves a Huge Political Void

JERUSALEM, Jan. 5, 2006 — -- Ariel Sharon's fans and his critics agree on one thing -- when the 77-year-old Israeli prime minister said he would do something, he almost always did it.

His determination and drive made Sharon a wildly popular politician in Israel.

Determined and Popular

Sharon changed the political landscape in Israel this past year. He recently left Likud, the right-wing party he founded, to start up a new more centrist party he named Kadima, or forward. Politicians of all stripes defected to Kadima, giving Sharon enough of a following to be a sure to win in the forthcoming March elections.

The one major criticism of Kadima is that it is a one-man party, too much Sharon. Now there are questions as to whether Kadima can even move forward.

No Israeli leader comes even close to having Sharon's popularity with the Israeli people.

Peace Talks at Risk

The ramifications reach throughout the Middle East and all the way to Washington.

President Bush was working closely with the Sharon government. It was widely believed that if Sharon was re-elected for a third term, he would present some sort of peace plan to the Palestinians, perhaps even giving up land on the West Bank.

Washington likely is now lost with no real partners if it wants to create peace in the Middle East.

With the recent leadership crisis within the Palestinian Authority, and now the uncertainty in Israel with Sharon, it's unclear who would even be included in any peace talks.