Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon asked the country's president Monday to dissolve parliament and call an early election. He also quit the Likud party he founded and formed a new centrist party.

Below are some of the scenarios following Sharon's dramatic move.

What happens next?

President Moshe Katsav can ask another party leader to try to form a new government within 21 days. Katsav said he would begin consulting with faction heads to see whether an alternative coalition government could be established and would make his decision soon. Political analysts say no parliamentarian could muster majority support for a new government and that an early election in late February or March was inevitable.

What policies will Sharon pursue if re-elected?

Sharon associates say he is set on taking steps with an avowed policy of ending conflict with the Palestinians to follow up on a unilateral withdrawal from the Gaza Strip in September. He has hinted he might also withdraw from isolated parts of the occupied West Bank.

What are his chances of winning?

No one party has ever won enough votes in Israel to establish a government, without forming a coalition with other factions. Recent polls show that Sharon's new party has a good chance of leading the next coalition government.

Who might join his new party?

Sharon has already persuaded 14 of Likud's 40 lawmakers, including five cabinet ministers, to join his new party. He is believed to be courting various leaders from the centre-left Labour Party, including Shimon Peres.

And if Sharon loses?

If the centre-left Labour Party comes out on top, Sharon could opt to join a Labour-led coalition. Labour is expected to perform well under new leader Amir Peretz, a Moroccan-born trade union leader who could draw votes from Likud's power base, Israelis of Middle Eastern descent.

A Likud victory, which opinion polls deem unlikely, could spell retirement for the 77-year-old former general.

Source: China Daily