It was surprising to see Shmuel Plato Sharon, a former "headline-making" MK, appear in the Knesset for the swearing-in of the 34th government of the State of Israel.
The 85-year-old man is still well-informed about what is happening in Israeli politics, and from time to time he also comes to visit.
""Everything here is a mess. The country needs to be rebuilt. How can a mother have to tell her child that there is nothing to eat today?" said the man at the time, some of whose catchphrases ("What have you done for the country") have taken pride of place.
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Despite his heavy French accent and husky voice, Plato Sharon defines himself as an Israeli for all intents and purposes. Since the 1970s, he has owned half of Dizengoff Center, the mall he founded with Avraham Piltz. Or as he told me: "Dizengoff, it's mine.".
He immigrated to Israel from France in 1975. At that time, he was being investigated for tax offenses there, and he decided to run for the Knesset in order to gain immunity from extradition.
He later changed his name from Plato to Shmuel, and ran for the Knesset on the 'Development and Peace' list, whose election slogan was: "Shmuel Sharon - the lone man in the Knesset." He won... two seats. Since he didn't bother to place more people on his list, he entered as a lone MK.
In the subsequent elections, he was not elected, and returned to the business world.
""Netanyahu is close to Begin""
"What do you feel when you sit here and see the circus?" I asked him, as we sat around a table in the Knesset.
""It's not a circus," he says. "It's hard for him because, first of all, there are only 61. You know, in history it's beautiful, when Begin was first in '77, there was 67 with my vote.".
• And you also threatened all the time not to vote with the government?
""I was with Begin the whole time," he replied. "Begin is for me the most beautiful Jew, the best who ever lived in Jewish history. And really, I remember how he said, what is this? Ashkenazim? Sephardim? What happened here? They're all Jews!...""
• What do you think about those who are threatening today?
""You know that Netanyahu is close to Begin. He is a good Jew. He loves the country, but this is politics, sometimes he does things that he doesn't really like, but has to do.".
""Two more times would be very beautiful""
• What do you think about the media going after his wife? Do you like it?
""Look, the majority in the country is on the right, wherever you go, it's on the right. Bibi, it's good that people envy him. I hope he serves as prime minister for us two more times, and then I'll be satisfied.".
• Do you give it to him twice more? Why not three? Four?
""No, he's already done a lot, two more would be very nice. He can retire, quiet.".
• Do you like what Silvan and Gilad are doing to him, threatening him not to vote?
""They're making such a mess with him, and in the end everyone will vote for him.".
• They threaten not to. Do you like that? In your time, was it also like that, that everyone threatened?
""It was always like this. It was always a mess. When I told Charlie Beaton what you did for the country... things like that... were always there. It's politicians. If it's not that, it's not politics.".
