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Photo: Reuters
Amir Peretz
Photo: Reuters
Nahum Barnea

Revolution

Peretz’s victory attributed more to his desire than to his ideas

The revolution, Amir Peretz believes, has been completed. Vengeance is his. What began in 1977 during the election of Menachem Begin by the Sephardics, those who were referred to as “the second Israel,” culminated on Wednesday with Peretz’s Labor party victory.

 

The theory is disputable. But the faith is not. Peretz believes. He believes in his personal strengths, in his acuteness and in his political instincts. There is certain vitality to him; hunger and ambition that no other senior Labor member, or, quite frankly, any senior member of any party, possesses.

 

His victory is attributed more to his desire than to his ideas.

 

The comparison Peretz makes between 1977 and 2005 is enlightening for another reason: In both cases the revolution took place at Shimon Peres’ expense. Peres is the abused child of Israeli politics. So smart; so experienced; so distinguished; so well-known and beloved all over the world. But in the major political intersections, where votes are actually tallied, he is never one of our own.

 

For the generals he is not enough of a soldier; for the right-wingers he is not nationalistic enough; for the Left he is overly flexible; for the Sephardics he is too Polish; and, after being a full-time politician for 65 years, everyone takes him for granted.

 

Peres is a true phenom. Despite being 82-years-old, he does not project even the slightest bit of weariness. But he refuses to accept the second curse of old age; the most unfair of curses: People have grown weary of him.

 

When Peres lost the presidency to Moshe Katsav in July, 2000, he surprised everyone with a quick recovery. On the following day he arrived, as usual, at his Beit Amot Mishpat office in Tel Aviv; fresh and invigorated. People approached to console him, but were surprised to find out he was in no need of their comforting. He was looking to the future. Within a few months he tried to get Meretz to back his candidacy for prime minister. He was pushed aside, but not desperate. He realized his next goal and became a minister in Sharon’s government.

 

Despite his caricature-like image, Peres is not a cry-baby. He is strong and calculated. His aloofness and alienation help him get up time and time again, wipe off the spit and move forward. But the alienation is also one of the reasons for his downfalls.

 

It seems that Wednesday’s defeat was one too many. At about 3 a.m. Peres faced the press and demanded a recount of the Sderot ballots. His voice was cracked; the tone was bitter, agitated; the voice of someone who has been betrayed.

 

Later he remained confined to his home. Peretz waited for a congratulatory phone call from Peres until 10 a.m. The call did not come. It did not come from Ehud Barak, Haim Ramon or Dalia Itzik either. Peretz decided, temporarily, not to take it to heart. The ability not to be insulted is the privilege of winners. But we must not get the wrong impression of Peretz – he will remember those who did not call him for many years to come.

 

Peres does not need a journalist to tell him that his public life is not over. At this point he should not embrace Peretz; he should not fight him. The world is listening to him. So are the Israelis. He can advance initiatives, bring in money, mediate between quarreling sides. In his case at least, there is life after the Labor party ballots.

 

Ehud Barak, Matan Vilnai and Haim Ramon were badly defeated. Barak and Vilnai slandered Peres, and later realized they were unable to enlist a constituency and embraced Peres. Barak did so patronizing, as if he was granting Peres his graces. Vilnai did so in panic, like a rabbit caught between the lights of a car. Both had to swallow their pride, and then lose anyway.

 

It should not be ruled out that Vilnai did Peretz a big favor: had he stayed in the race, Peretz might not have been able to gain 40 percent of the votes, and a second round of elections would have been forced on the candidates. (Amir Peretz disagrees with that theory. He claims he would have gotten 41 percent in any case.)

 

But not to worry, they will be back, to make mistakes again, fall down and then make another comeback. There is something about these gifted officers, the shining stars of the elite units, which makes them pathetic as they grow old.

 

Meanwhile, there are two MKs who did gain from the elections. Eitan Kabel, the Labor general secretary who conducted the elections courageously and without succumbing to the pressures of any of the candidates, and Yuli Tamir, who was the only Labor MK to support Peretz.

 

However, on Thursday last week Tamir was no longer alone. Like every winning candidate, Peretz had his own Altalena. His ship could barely carry the load of the many passengers that rushed to board it.

 

Two foxes

 

It is worth mentioning here the vote for presidency held in 2000. The Knesset vote was discrete, but according to the common assumption in the political system, Likud leader Sharon voted for Peres in the first round, because he doubted his own party's candidate Moshe Katzav had a chance to win. Only after it was revealed that Katzav received 60 votes, more than Peres, although not a majority, Sharon changed his vote and supported Katzav in the second round.

 

This was not only an alliance between two experienced political foxes, an alliance that bore fruit in the current government. This was also vanity. Both Sharon and Peres did not believe that someone like Katzav could overtake a candidate like Peres.

 

They both assumed that once you have reached a certain stature, a certain political degree, you do not need a message. The message is me, the person.

 

This may be a bit too late for Peres, but Sharon can still benefit from this lesson: It is not enough to say 'choose me, I am the big man,' but a candidate must explain why he deserves such support.

 

On Thursday Sharon called Peretz. The conversation lasted about two minutes. It was shorter than the announcement the PM's office relayed to reporters later that day. Peretz congratulated Sharon for the timing of the phone call: He was surrounded by his advocates at the time. The two men positively remarked on their neighbor-relations. One lives at the Sycamore Ranch, the other in Sderot.

 

This proximity is something that should be taken into consideration. Not more than two or three kilometers separate Sharon's farm and Peretz's house. On Saturdays, when Peretz goes on leisurely bike rides in the area he often meets Omri, Sharon's son. But proximity is not only a matter of geography: The distance between Sycamore Ranch and its list of priorities and the house in Sderot and its priority list is enormous, and unbridgeable at the moment.

 

Sharon was so concerned by Peretz's election that he chose to lash at him in his TV interview with Yair Lapid. This was not an elegant choice. It was worse; it was patronizing. Sharon praised Peretz as a neighbor, said he appreciates him and added he would be wise to wait a few years before he takes on leadership. He spoke as if the state was his own private car. When he wishes to he can let the 'kid' take it for a ride, when he wants to – he will refuse.

 

And the kid is 54 years-old.

 

In the immediate range, Peretz's election handed a blow to Sharon. It deprived him of the ideal coalition partner and obstructed his schedule for the coming months. On the other hand, Peretz may become a convenient rival in the struggle over the votes of a great part of the political center. Sharon may inherit a great part of Peres' supporters. In certain circumstances he may even inherit Peres himself. Peres may have one last political adventure in him, waiting to come out.

 

Peretz will not forget the activity of Sharon's supporter in the south for Shimon Peres. Rumors had it that in the southern town of Netivot, Likud members operated against Peretz supporters, and even extended threats to people at their workplaces. I have tries to establish these rumors, but was unable to do so. Peretz however believes this is what happened, and he remembers.

 

As of last week, Peretz intended on telling Sharon during their first meeting that an elections date should be set, either in March, when the budget reaches its authorization stage, or at the latest, May, the latest time available to authorize the budget.

 

The first civilian

 

Peretz is the first civilian politician to be elected Labor leader. All of the other leaders, from Ben-Gurion, to Sharett, Eshkol, Golda, Rabin, Peres, Barak, Ben Eliezer and Mitzna led the party through the prism of the army and security forces.

 

This revolution will be no less significant than the last time a Moroccan Labor leader was elected.

 

Peretz is a civilian, and he has a civilian agenda. Not long ago, Peretz met with Dan Lahat, son of (former Tel Aviv Mayor) Shlomo Lahat. Lahat heralds from the business sector. He asked Peretz whether he "was intending on raising the minimum wage."

 

"Certainly," said Peretz. He continued: "I believe that there's no other way to repair the social gaps. If you intend on voting against me because of that, that's your right; as for me, I won't change my mind."

Peretz said that "soon the whole country will understand that the minimum wage must be raised."

 

A large factor in the majority obtained by Peretz during the Labor party came from the sieves of the Histadrut, but this is not the only explanation.

 

Another major factor is that people adopted a social agenda, possibly because the other two candidates failed to adopt any agenda.

While the other two Labor candidates had tired faces, Peretz had both a face and a moustache.

 

And perhaps Peretz was adopted because it's difficult to be elderly, even in Givatayim, and despite having a pension. And perhaps the recess in terror attacks reminded people of other pains; their social, health, and economic concerns.

 

Peretz is convinced that he owes one percent of support to (Foreign Minister) Silvan Shalom, who said on the eve of the Labor primaries that a Peretz victory would be bad for Likud. He owes far more to Binyamin Netanyahu, who managed a free market economy and took away a feeling of economic security among the lower middle class, along with those on the periphery.

 

The Labor party is Labor in name only. In recent years it competed with Shinui and Peretz for the veteran Ashkenazi votes, members of the middle upper class. Peretz is suggesting it now try to conquer an audience of voters who long forgot about its existence, and he thinks Labor should search for its future in the poorer neighborhoods and development towns.

 

It's clear that Peretz has many fans there. What is not clear is whether he has a lot of voters - he could end up with 14 mandates.

 

Peretz's political rivals will concentrate on his lack of security and diplomatic experience. They will play, albeit subtly, on the inability of many voters from the old camp to accept a prime minister who is both lacking an eye for security, and who is Moroccan.

 

When the issue being discussed involves life or death, inexperience is a problem. Sometimes it leads to over reliance on the security arms, and sometimes it can lead to adventurism - as in the case of George Bush, president of the largest power on earth.

 

But inexperience is also an advantage. Peretz is starting from scratch. He wasn't in the same elite unit as some of the others were. He doesn't know everything. But he can learn.

 

The test at these levels is not only of experience. It's also about character, judgment; an ability to refresh.

 

While fulfilling his previous roles, Peretz has proven that he is a tough man - strong, diligent, ambitious, and not modest in his self esteem. This may not be a good recipe for enjoying a Friday night meal, but this is the stuff of prime ministers.

 

His immediate goal is to translate his very clear views on social and diplomatic issues (from the diplomatic point of view he is more dovish than Labor), and create a new party with an unforgettable social emphasis. His party rivals will compete beneath him, pray for his failure, and will force him to leave, clearing the path for themselves to reenter the picture.

 

Last week, Peretz held a burial ceremony for the ethnic demon, but the demon remains unburied. It will return when the elections really heat up. 

 


פרסום ראשון: 11.17.05, 21:34
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