LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Taxes are not the only thing on President Bush's mind. He's also been looking at the outcome of Israel's election. President Bush telephoned Israeli prime minister- elect Ariel Sharon yesterday to congratulate him on his victory. The White House says Mr. Bush assured Mr. Sharon that the United States will help work toward peace in the Middle East. For more on the Israeli election, let's go now live now to CNN's Jerusalem bureau chief Mike Hanna. He's standing by in Tel Aviv this morning -- Mike?</s>MIKE HANNA, CNN JERUSALEM BUREAU CHIEF: Well, Leon, Israelis and the region waiting to see what Ariel Sharon does next, specifically in terms of what kind of government he forms. But the first steps taken by Sharon on the day that he woke up as prime minister-elect were not political, but personal. He emerged on rainy day to visit the grave of his wife Lilly, who died last year: a moment of reflection, a moment of repose, a moment of respect to his dead wife before confronting the many issues that are piling up in front of him. And primary among these issues: the question of what kind of government he forms. Ariel Sharon has said that he wants to form a broad-based government of national unity. To do so, he needs the support of the Labor Party, the head of which, Ehud Barak, he defeated crushingly in the prime minister's elections yesterday. But one problem here because Ehud Barak, in conceding defeat to Ariel Sharon, announced also that he was resigning as head of the Labor Party. What this means is that the party now may get a caretaker leader for a while, but it will still have to go through the procedure of electing a permanent new leader, which is going to make the coalition negotiations with the Sharon government difficult. The problem facing Sharon is the time span created in terms of electoral law. He has 45 days in which to form a government and get that government approved by the country's Knesset or parliament -- Leon.</s>HARRIS: Thanks much, Mike Hanna, standing by live in Tel Aviv, Israel.
Israeli Prime Minister-elect Ariel Sharon Wakes Up to New Challenges