Jerusalem ? Prime Minister Ariel Sharon sought to keep his imperiled government afloat Sunday by bringing former premier Benjamin Netanyahu into the Cabinet, while Netanyahu set a tough condition for joining early elections.

Israel’s two leading right-wing politicians, Sharon and Netanyahu, are trying to work out an alliance while also battling each other to lead the Likud Party into the country’s next general election.

The ballot must be held before next November, but could be brought forward early next year if Sharon resigns or if his fragile coalition collapses in the coming days or weeks. That could plunge Israel into even greater turmoil as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict drags on and with the threat of a U.S. war with Iraq on the horizon.

Sharon and Netanyahu both stressed their efforts to resolve the current political crisis and played down any suggestion they were jockeying for advantage in the next election.

“I told (Sharon) that I’ll be happy to serve as foreign minister on condition that we go to early elections,” Netanyahu told Israeli television. “The right thing is to immediately go to new elections,” he added, predicting that Likud would double its current 19 seats in the 120-member parliament.

Netanyahu could harm his image if he flatly refused to join the government at a moment of crisis. But analysts said he was reluctant to serve as the race for party leader intensifies.

Sharon is the current Likud leader, but a party primary must be held before the next general election.

Some polls have shown Netanyahu winning a head-to-head contest. He would then be positioned to become the next prime minister.

In Israel’s chronically unstable political system, the winner of any election will have to work out alliances with a host of smaller parties. Such governments regularly fall, and the country has had five prime ministers in the past seven years.