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Photo: AP
Didn't sleep much: Shimon Peres
Photo: AP

Peres: I have nothing to be ashamed of

Vice Premier Shimon Peres addresses for first time Amir Peretz victory in Labor primaries elections

Vice Premier Shimon Peres addressed for the first time the victory of Amir Peretz in the Labor primaries elections during a speech he delivered at a business conference in Tel Aviv.

 

"You probably want me to speak about last night, but don't forget that you don’t ask a man what he did last night. I didn't sleep much, but I have nothing to be embarrassed about," Peres said.

 

Peres, who looked fatigued, added that the elections would be held in the course of 2006. "The next elections should have been held in October of next year, and it would have happened if we did not have so many ambitious politicians," he said.

 

He added: "Journalists in Israel like to complain that there is no fighting opposition here. In my opinion, we actually don't have enough of a stable government. A stable government, and not a combative opposition, is what allows long term forging of financial support and prosperity."

 

Peres also said that he was not dealing with elections but "with real matters." He added, as a possible swipe at Peretz, that "governments are not good at running businesses," and spoke about privatization.

 

Most of Peres' speech did not deal with the Labor primaries.

 

"For many years I was laughed at when I spoke about the new Middle East, and here it is happening, with financial ties between Israel and our neighbors advancing. We need to strengthen these financial ties with the Palestinians and not to forget about Gaza, and we need to make a supreme effort at making sure the Palestinians can travel freely, because if Palestinians will be jailed in Gaza without movement, investments in Gaza will dry up," he said.

 


פרסום ראשון: 11.10.05, 13:43
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