Peretz aides: He'll stay put till war probe conclusions
In spite of reports that Prime Minister Olmert plans to dismiss defense minister, Peretz's associates stress he has no plan to resign until Winograd Commission probing war in Lebanon submits its conclusions. Meanwhile, Peretz attempts to improve his status among Labor Party voters ahead of primary elections schedule to be held in May
Meanwhile, Peretz held three rallies Friday ahead of the primary elections for the Labor Party leadership.
Peretz's aides estimated that in spite of the Yedioth Ahronoth poll, according to which Peretz only comes in fourth in the primaries after Knesset Member Ami Ayalon, former Prime Minister Ehud Barak and MK former Minister Ophir Pines-Paz, the defense minister would succeed in reducing the gap until the day of the elections in May and would even beat his rivals.
A Peretz aide told Ynet that "we must remember that the Labor Party census has not been completed and this enables Peretz to recruit additional supporters."
On Thursday, Channel 2 reported that Prime Minister Ehud Olmert plans to remove Peretz from his post and give him a different portfolio. The Prime Minister's Office denied the report.
Very close associates of Peretz said Thursday night that "this all seems like a spin aimed at drawing attention away from the corruption in Olmert's Office. We're convinced that also Olmert knows that moving one brick will topple the wall."
Ministers support Barak for Labor leadership
Ynet recently reported that several of Olmert's advisors recommended that he fires the defense minister.
"Publicly admit that you made a mistake in appointing Peretz to the post, and explain that national responsibility requires you to replace Peretz by another person who is much more suitable for this ministry. Don't be scared to admit the mistake," the advisors told Olmert. "The public is willing to accept acknowledgement of an error, and public opinion will change."
At the time, the close associates said that Olmert was still unconvinced he must make the move, or that he may be scared of it, although he "understands that he will have to make this move in the not so distant future."
Only a few weeks ago, the prime minister declared that he has no plans to fire the defense minister. Answering a question presented by Ynet during the Editors' Conference in Tel Aviv, Olmert said that "the relationship with the defense minister is one of the best that ever was between a defense minister and a prime minister. There is no plan to fire the defense minister."
Meanwhile, Agriculture Minister Shalom Simhon spoke to Infrastructure Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer and updated him that he also supports former Prime Minister Ehud Barak for Labor Party leadership.
Ben-Eliezer also spoke to former Minister Moshe Shahal, who said that Barak should be appointed defense minister. Ben-Eliezer himself met with activists in his office Thursday and said "I call on Ehud Barak to return."
