Defense Minister and Labor Chairman Amir Peretz put
on a confident front on Monday after former Prime Minister Ehud Barak announced his intention to run for the chairmanship of the party. Speaking to his supporters Peretz urged them to ignore the media frenzy and focus on the campaign. "I may not have time to devote to the election campaign, but I believe that the public will understand and appreciate that fact at the ballot," said Peretz.
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"Everyone can see that the rest of the candidates are only trying to overthrow me and take my place while I don't have time for politics," added Peretz, who has also had to fend off rumors that Prime Minister Ehud Olmert plans
to dismiss him. The rumors were officially denied by Olmert's office.
Associates close to Peretz complained that while Peretz had to attend to his duties as defense minister all day long, the other candidates spend all day campaigning: "The other candidates only have one agenda: remove Amir from power."
Pertez's associates also addressed Barak's stormy return to politics, saying it would only benefit Peretz as it would drive a wedge in the opposing camp. "Ayalon and Barak are running with the same agenda, they'll lash out at each other," they said.
Peretz's associates expressed optimism regarding his situation in the Labor Party and among field operatives, and rejected claims he lost all support within the faction.
Peretz and Barak (Photo: Reuters)
According to a source close to the defense minister, "From a political point of view, Amir's situation is good. Most of the MKs who support the other candidates did not support Amir in the past, so this doesn't change the picture."
The associate said that Peretz is optimistic, and that he recently announced, "We plan to do the unbelievable again and win."
Referring to the defense minister's diplomatic initiative, the associate said that "the plan has been in the works for almost three months. The defense minister called the prime minister, updated him on the plan and informed him that he plans to turn it into the party's plan. He later intends to bring it for the government's approval."
Peretz's associates explained that the plan aims at disconnecting Syria from the radical axis and strengthen the moderate forces. The Syrian and Palestinian fronts cannot be separated, things should be looked at from a wide ranging perspective."
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