Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom, who has announced bid for the Likud party leadership, vowed on Wednesday to restore the Likud party to glory if he is elected, local newspaper Ha'aretz reported.

"The Likud is in crisis and we cannot sweep under the carpet," said Shalom, asserting that he is the only one who can rehabilitate the three-decade old party and win the March general elections.

Shalom made his vow one day after officially launching his bid for the Likud leadership, which was vacated after Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon quit the party he co-founded and formed a new centrist party named Kadima (Forward) last week.

"I call on the people in my party to stay in Likud and to vote for me in the primaries and to lead the state," said Shalom, indicating that he would invite Sharon and the Labor party to join any government under his leadership.

Besides Shalom, two other heavyweights, former premier Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz, are also vying for the chairmanship.

Questioning Netanyahu's lead in the race, Shalom said the former premier was defeated by Labor candidate Ehud Barak in the 1999 elections.

Shalom called himself a centrist and stabilizing option, saying that he had been behind much of the rehabilitation of the Likud after the 1999 defeat.

Israel will hold general elections on March 28, 2006, in which three major parties, the center-right Likud, center-left Labor and Sharon's Kadima will compete.

Source: Xinhua