Medics to wake Sharon from coma
"He will not continue to be prime minister, but maybe he will be able to understand and to speak," one of his surgeons, Jose Cohen, was quoted as saying. Israelis and world leaders looking for the end of the Sharon era.
Jerusalem (AsiaNews/Agencies) - Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon was expected to be awoken gradually from a deep coma on Monday so his doctors can assess the extent of damage to his brain following a massive stroke.
Yet doctors have ruled out the chances of him returning as prime minister. The move, five days after Sharon was admitted to hospital, has been billed as the "moment of truth" by the Israeli media.
The latest brain scan showed signs of an improvement in his condition. All his other vital signs such as blood pressure and pulse were within normal parameters. There was also no sign of fever.
Mr Sharon has been comatose, in a critical situation, since Wednesday night when he suffered his second stroke in less than three weeks, leaving Israelis addicted to television and radio bulletins for hourly news of his health. After days of uncertainty, doctors have appeared more confident they can save his life but are warning his condition will not allow him to absorb the stresses of leading the Jewish state.
"He will not continue to be prime minister, but maybe he will be able to understand and to speak," one of his surgeons, Jose Cohen, was quoted as saying. Another Hadassah doctor said on condition of anonymity that he was running a risk of paralysis or other difficulties that will prevent him from ruling the country. "We are in no doubt that we will be able to revive him... but he will probably not be able to resume his duties," the source said.
Israelis and world leaders have already braced themselves for the end of the Sharon era, fearing his demise would spark new turmoil in a region struggling to find the path to peace after decades of conflict. His plight has revived traumatic memories of the death of prime minister Yitzhak Rabin a decade ago, whose assassination by a Jewish extremist triggered a wave of violence and a collapse of the peace process.
With Sharon in intensive care, his stand-in Ehud Olmert has pledged business as usual. Mr Olmert, while respected, has none of the clout nor the power base that enabled Mr Sharon to bulldoze his way through opposition to last year's pullout from the Gaza Strip, the defining moment of his five-year premiership.
Elder statesman Shimon Peres said he would endorse Mr Olmert to lead Kadima into the next election.
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05/01/2006
