Labor Chairman Amir Peretz
Photo: Eli Elgart
Peretz authorized to appoint Labor ministers
Labor chairman wins vote enabling him to appoint Labor ministers by narrow margin of only 30 votes. In his speech Peretz criticizes 'admirals and generals' in Labor
Defying predictions, and despite the fact that large camps within the Labor party were with him, Labor Chairman Amir Peretz won a vote in the party's Central Committee by a small fraction: 667 members supported his suggestion enabling him to select the list of ministers for the new government, compared to 633 voters who objected, believing the Center should decide on the list of ministers.
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The gap was one of 34 votes out of 1303 voters (including canceled votes and abstentions). Knesset Members Matan Vilnai and Danny Yatom led the opposition to the Peretz's plan.
Aides to Peretz accused Labor Central Committee members of arriving for the vote despite the fact that they had moved to Kadima, describing the act as "shameful."
Before the vote over the ministers, the Committee authorized the coalition agreement with Kadima by a large margin, after Professor David Libai presented the principles of the coalition to the Committee members, and the government's founding principles.
Peretz then addressed the members in order to convince them to approve the list he will present. "This is important," he began. "I am standing before the party's Central Committee members, and saying to you: The citizens of the State are looking at us, and I have no doubt that not just the citizens of the State of Israel are looking at us. I am sure that many in the whole region, in the whole world, are waiting to see how we act," he said.
Attacking 'admirals and generals'
Peretz also attacked the "admirals" and "generals" – a hint at Ami Ayalon and Matan Vilnai, who spoke harshly against Peretz's management over the weekend. "I look around me, and hear the voices, I look and I don't believe. Whenever a party does not win the status of a ruling party, the most respectable post is the Defense Ministry. And I hear the generals, and the admirals say: 'Why the Defense Ministry?' I hear the voices, and I am happy with myself, because this means we succeeded in changing the agenda in the State of Israel. The revolution is that a social general is no longer ruled out from being a minister of defense, and our generals yearn to deal with social issues."
