Abbas struggles with Arafat's Palestinian legacy

But President Mahmoud Abbas is finding it much harder to break with the deeper legacy of Arafat's chaotic rule or revive statehood talks with Israel than to transform the miserable compound where the former guerrilla spent his declining years.

True, a breakthrough on a ceasefire allowed a smooth Israeli withdrawal from the occupied Gaza Strip. Abbas has also helped the Palestinians back to diplomatic centre stage.

But much still needs doing to address the internal problems eating away at the Palestinian Authority -- growing insecurity, defiance from militant groups, corruption, deep poverty, and intrigue among an entrenched old guard.

"If you don't get your own house in order, you can't really ask anybody in the international community to come and support you," Abbas's chief of staff, Rafiq Husseini, told Reuters.

Meanwhile, Israel looks in neither the mood nor a position for statehood talks as it heads towards elections.

Abbas, a grey-suited businessman of 70, avoided the collapse into anarchy that many feared after the death on November 11, 2004, of Arafat, the autocratic symbol of the fight for a state.

On the surface, the Arafat chapter is closed. Neat functionaries now inhabit unrecognisable rooms in Arafat's Muqata headquarters, cleared of the musty reek that lingered from his last years spent under Israeli siege.

Abbas, widely known as Abu Mazen, swiftly marked a change of direction by securing a truce with Israel in February and getting militants to agree, helping Israel leave Gaza quietly and securing a testing ground for Palestinian statehood.

That is where it gets much more complicated.

NO DISARMAMENT
While militants agreed to "maintain calm" until the end of the year, they absolutely refuse to disarm under a US-backed peace "road map", and Abbas shies from confronting them in fear of civil war. Sporadic violence with Israel continues.

Just as damaging internally: the plethora of armed groups, particularly from Abbas's own Fatah movement, lay down gun law on the streets in parts of Gaza and the West Bank. More than 170 Palestinians have died this year in crime or local strife.

Abbas's efforts to sweep away security commanders seen as corrupt and ineffectual have not brought complete change. The same goes for the political front. The cabinet that Arafat bequeathed remains largely the same.

"It's all just groping in the dark and improvisation. Abu Mazen has not stamped his own views or personality on Palestinian politics," said Israeli analyst Mark Heller.

"He's not willing to put his strength to the test without a clear conviction he will prevail, and he doesn't have that."

Crunch point is the parliamentary election set for January.

Aides say that Abbas hopes to use the vote to help clear out old faces and bring into the mainstream the powerful Islamic militant group Hamas, which he would then try to compel to give up its weapons.

A new parliament, the argument goes, would give Abbas greater legitimacy and a stronger base for reform.

FATAH CONFLICTM
But that also places Abbas in conflict with many in Fatah who do not want to lose their privileges and fear that Hamas -- standing for the first time -- will do well as voters seek an alternative less tainted by corruption.

Those worried at the prospect of a ballot could still manage to get it shelved. Administrative delays are common. Any major new violence could provide an easy excuse.

"The landmark is the election," said Palestinian analyst Ali Jarbawi. "The only thing that matters is whether the election is going to be held."