Sharon jokes with aides after stroke

Prime Minister Ariel Sharon joked with aides and discussed affairs of state today after suffering a mild stroke, but his illness raised questions about his ability to lead the country if elected to a third term in March elections.

It also left his brand-new centrist Kadima Party scrambling. Without the 77-year-old Sharon, Kadima wouldn’t likely amount to much, as the prime minister’s popularity is the overriding factor behind the party’s commanding lead in polls.

With balloting three months away, concerns about his health could become a focus of the campaign, and improve the prospects of the hard-line Likud Party that he quit to form Kadima.

Likud voters went to the polls today to choose a replacement for Sharon as party leader. Polls gave former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a slight edge over Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom, and final results were expected at about midnight local time.

Sharon underwent additional tests today after being taken to Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem last night, showing signs of confused speech. Israeli media reported he was unable to tell the time or count fingers when he underwent preliminary neurological tests at the hospital, but doctors later said he improved quickly.

Sharon was treated with blood thinners and suffered no damage from the stroke, said his personal doctor, Boleslaw Goldman.

Hospital spokeswoman Yael Bossem-Levy said doctors ran more tests today and decided Sharon should also undergo brain and full body scans, procedures she described as routine.

Sharon held his daily staff meeting in the hospital, said aide Asaf Shariv. “He asked questions, he received an update from the military secretary and from the Cabinet secretary. He’s in good spirits,” Shariv told Army Radio.

Cabinet Secretary Yisrael Maimon told Army Radio that Sharon walked around his room and showered by himself. Maimon said it was not clear when Sharon would be released.

Doctors said that while Sharon now has a greater risk of an additional stroke, that doesn’t necessarily mean another stroke would be more severe.

Sharon received calls from US President George Bush, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Prime Minister Tony Blair and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas also sent wishes for a speedy recovery.