Sharon's election victory

Ariel Sharon is inheriting a power he should never have had. If he has won this election so easily, it's because his opponent lost his credibility, even within his own camp. Only a peace deal could -- perhaps -- have saved Ehud Barak. But Yasser Arafat, imprisoned by his own camp, didn't have the courage to take the final step. The Palestinians may come to regret that bitterly, for Sharon will never make them that many concessions, however justified they may be.

Sharon's victory foreshadows months of increased violence. The new power will use force to put down the Palestinians, who will feel even more justified in their struggle. But this brutal force, which will be followed by the bloody agony of the peace process, could lead to a political agreement. Israel knows, since its withdrawal from Lebanon, that there is no military solution to an occupation.

Like Begin before him, Sharon is perhaps the only person capable of imposing an agreement on both the Israelis and the Palestinians. But will this warmonger be able to transform himself into a peacemaker? On land which is holy three times over, the impossible is always possible.

-- Le Temps, Geneva, Switzerland