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"Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert paid an emotional tribute to his mentor and ex-premier Ariel Sharon on Friday, two years after the political giant slipped into a coma following a massive stroke.
"I am nostalgic for the long hours that we passed together, for the sound of his voice, for his humour," Olmert wrote in the tribute published in the mass-selling Yediot Aharonot newspaper.
"I hope with all my heart that a day will come when he will open his eyes again and return to be among us."
In a separate statement published by the tabloid Maariv, Olmert wrote: "I am sure that he would tell me if he could from the place where he is today: follow your path with faith and lead the people of Israel."
Despite the time which has passed since Sharon's departure from the political scene, the legacy of his dramatic and often controversial leadership remains strong.
Sharon's condition has changed little since the 79-year-old "Bulldozer" was rushed to a Jerusalem hospital on January 4, just six weeks after suffering a more minor stroke.
Today the former general who became prime minister in 2001 is hospitalised in a Tel Aviv rehabilitation centre away from the limelight of Israeli politics and in the care of his two sons and their immediate family."
http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5h5C5IXjsLZ0I1QrTkvMoDnU-OPUw