The press across Israel's political spectrum shows little enthusiasm for the immediate political future on the eve of the general election.

Ariel Sharon will not do in his second term what he didn't do in his first Ha'aretz commentary

"There will be very little new about the [next] government," a commentary in the leftist Ha'aretz says.

It expects little change in Israel's conflict with the Palestinians or the ailing economy.

"Very few surprises, and happy surprises in particular, are expected from the new government. Ariel Sharon will not do in his second term what he didn't do in his first."

The new government is unlikely to last more than a year, according to a cheerless commentary in the centrist Yediot Aharonot.

"Since 1998, no government and Knesset have completed a term in office," it points out.

All the parties... give up their declared principles in exchange for a cabinet seat Ha'aretz

"We vote from the gut... and are soon dragged into an early election campaign," it notes ruefully.

"The opposition is paid to topple the [governing] coalition, and the coalition partners have urges."

'Strangest campaign'

The current election campaign is "one of the strangest in the country's history", Ha'aretz says, because "it completely ignored the central issues on the Israeli agenda".

"In recent years, the public has grown tired of the swift succession of governments and lost whatever faith it had left in its elected representatives," it says.

All agree that we are not expecting a turnabout Hatzofe commentary

According to the paper: "Most of the public apparently feel that all the parties make deals among themselves, over the heads of voters, and they easily give up their declared principles in exchange for a seat at the cabinet table."

But the paper argues against cynicism and apathy in the electorate:

"Everyone must cast his ballot for the party that will strive for a peace agreement and correct the distorted order of national priorities."

Projections

The right-wing Hatzofe considers the post-election political alignment:

"As it seems, all agree that we are not expecting a turnabout...

The bottom line is no-one is expecting a new dawn Ma'ariv

"Likud will win 30-plus mandates, Labour 20-minus, with Yosef Lapid [leader of the anti-religious Shinui party] liable to occupy second place."

"The question is," the paper believes, "will Ariel Sharon succeed in forming a wide or a narrow coalition?"

Ma'ariv predicts "a clear win for the Likud, a muzzling bloc for the right and a difficult defeat for Labour".

The paper also predicts "an astonishing achievement" for Shinui, which is competing head-to-head with the ultra-Orthodox Shas to be the third-largest party.

But, it adds: "The bottom line is no-one is expecting a new dawn."

BBC Monitoring, based in Caversham in southern England, selects and translates information from radio, television, press, news agencies and the Internet from 150 countries in more than 70 languages.