Sharon showing brain activity

Arik Sharon began breathing independently yesterday, soon after doctors started rousing him from a medically induced coma to assess the extent of the Israeli Prime Minister′s brain damage.

Mr Sharon′s surgeons have conceded there is no chance the 77-year-old, who suffered a massive stroke last Wednesday night, could again lead his country. However, even a partial return to health would be a fillip for the Jewish state - and, potentially, the peace process.

The director of Jerusalem′s Hadassah Hospital, where Mr Sharon has been treated, said the Prime Minister had begun breathing spontaneously, in the first sign of activity in his brain since he was placed in the coma.

"We have started to reduce the amount of anaesthesia," Shlomo Mor-Yosef said.

"In the first stage, Mr Sharon has begun to breathe spontaneously, although he is still connected to the ventilator. This is the first sign of some sort of activity in his brain."

Mr Sharon′s vital signs have been reasonable during his five-day induced coma and the swelling on his brain, common to most serious stroke victims, subsided at the weekend.

At the very least, his doctors expect the large cerebral haemorrhage he suffered to have partially damaged his motor skills and neurological function.

Surgeons say it could take anything from one day to one month before Mr Sharon stirs from his coma and only then will they be able to run reliable tests on his brain and body.

The political custodians of Mr Sharon′s legacy moved yesterday to appoint Justice Minister Tzipi Livni to the No2 position on the Kadima ticket to contest national elections on March 28.

The move positions Ms Livni to take the job of deputy prime minister, if Acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is successful in leading Mr Sharon′s Kadima to an election victory.

After days of calm, out of respect for Mr Sharon′s plight, political manoeuvring has now started in earnest.

Former prime minister Ehud Barak has flagged a return to politics, but will not say whether his sympathies lie with his old party, Labour, or the breakaway group.

Kadima remains strong in polls, defying predictions that it would crumble in Mr Sharon′s absence. A poll released yesterday shows it would pick up 37 seats in the Knesset, Israel′s parliament, with Amir Peretz′s Labour likely to win 20.

The Likud party that Mr Sharon abandoned in November was still lagging, but had improved sharply over the week and was expected to collect 17 seats.

Mr Olmert is still polling best as preferred prime minister, but only just.

At an approval rating of 28per cent, he leads fellow Kadima defector and former Labour leader Shimon Peres and Likud′s Benjamim Netanyahu, who are both on 23 per cent.

The closeness of the race reflects confusion among Israelis about the best replacement for Mr Sharon, who was widely expected to have made the election a one-horse race.

Mr Olmert chaired his first scheduled meeting of the Israeli cabinet on Sunday.

Among the agenda items was a critical decision about whether to allow Israeli Arabs in East Jerusalem to vote in Palestinian elections on January 25.

Israel had earlier banned the participation of its Arab citizens, but police confirmed yesterday that they would allow limited campaigning in East Jerusalem without the participation of militant groups.