Peretz vows 'no coalition games'
Labor party satisfied with election results; party member: We'll demand treasury
In his speech early Wednesday, party leader Amir Peretz said: "We had an amazing battle, people working day and night and did something unbelievable. Yet the work is not over yet, it's only beginning."
Labor party headquarters (Video: Shiran Valk)
"We don't intend to be tempted by coalition games. We succeeded as a party to raise the level of credibility of elected officials in Israel, and this is no easy task," Peretz said. "Under no circumstances will we join a new government without it being clear what the social red lines are."
"Everything is still open. I believe we will score a better result than what the polls show. All in all I'm happy, but would like us to get more seats," the party's secretary-General Eitan Cabel told Ynet earlier.
According to Cabel, "Amir Peretz has tonight consolidated his power in the Labor party. He is the first leader not to cause us to lose seats in the elections since Rabin."
Professor Avishay Braverman told Ynet: "This is the beginning of a new road. We placed the socioeconomic agenda on the table. A Labor led by Amir Peretz would build a party and a state. I'm not disappointed, but regardless of the results, we succeeded. The next few years will see us becoming the largest party in Israel."
Youths who arrived at the party's offices yelled "revolution! Revolution!" despite the fact confusion reigned supreme at the headquarters due to the differences between the polls.
Nevertheless, it seems apparent that Labor has gained an impressive accomplishment. Senior party members are already discussing the next government and the division of ministerial positions.
"There is no reason for us not to ask for the Finance Ministry. The results show we will be major partners in the next cabinet, and we should demand to get the Finance Ministry," one Labor member said.
Knesset Member Yitzhak Herzog explained: "The Labor party was eulogized several times in the last months, and we were forced to face the Kadima tsunami. Kadima swallowed Shinui, as well as most of Likud, took away Shimon Peres along with a quarter of our support base."
"Despite all that, we came out unified and strengthened, and our agenda turned out to be appealing to the public. We see this as a very positive result. Any government with us will have to include the bases of our platform in its guiding principles," he added.
Knesset Member Danny Yatom, on his part, chose to refer to Labor's rival. "This is a defeat for Kadima, as it is a great joy for Labor. It's still not a revolution, and we must wait for the final results."
Meanwhile, Former Prime Minister Ehud Barak lauded Peretz for the party's accomplishment and for preserving the party's strength since the 2003 elections. Barak stated he was a Labor man himself, and said he voted for the party.
Another party MK, Shalom Simhon, claimed the party's achievement represented a victory for "the second Israel." "The peripheries dramatically voted for Labor's social agenda… this is undoubtedly a social party with a new public behind it. I think that the party's leadership should take this into consideration. The mandates came mostly from the weak populations."
Simhon added he believed that the party should claim for itself the social ministerial positions in the future government.
Moran Zelikovitch contributed to the report
