Peretz set to officially endorse Ayalon on Sunday
Labor chairman Peretz meets with candidate in second round of party primaries late Saturday to smooth out details of Peretz's official support. Meanwhile, MK Pinesp-Paz's loyalty remains undecided
The meeting reportedly ended without any formal announcement, but Ayalon's aides said they fully expected Peretz to endorse Ayalon as early as Sunday afternoon. The two were reported to also have discussed whether or not the party should remain in a government headed by Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.
Peretz's aides said the defense minister planned to promote three main topics in his talks with Ayalon: A law guaranteeing a pension for every citizen, the minimum wage law issue, and implementation of relevant personnel laws by the beginning of August.
Peretz also wants the government to decide on a new political plan immediately, and he expects Ayalon to present these subjects as conditions for remaining in the Olmert government if he is elected.
However, Peretz' apparent political maneuverings may stay behind the scenes.
His associates said that "no one should be surprised if Amir is not even a minister in the next government. He is not interested in a ministerial role at all, and this is not at the top of his priority list. He may stay on as an MK."
Peretz, expected to endorse Ayalon on Sunday (Photo: Tsafrir Abayov)
A senior source from Peretz's camp told Ynet that despite the progress being made between the Labor chairman and candidate Ayalon, "there is a chance that in the end, Peretz will remain on the fence."
The source added that there was no chance of Peretz supporting Ayalon's opponent, Ehud Barak.
"If Amir does not support any of the candidates, it is likely that Barak will win the second round. Ami Ayalon needs him (Peretz) more than Barak does," the source said.
Ayalon does indeed need support from within the party and after his meeting with Peretz on Saturday he traveled to meet MK Ophir Pines-Paz, also a first round candidate who did not make it to the next level. But Pines too has yet to make any formal statements and after an hour-long meeting with Ayalon no indications were given as to the success of the meeting.
It is most likely that Pines will wait several more days while the Ayalon-Barak struggle plays out before
making his final decision.
In the meantime, Ehud Barak has scheduled a meeting with Arab Minister Raleb Majadele, in hopes that Majadele may help him gain the support of the thousands of Arab voters key to winning the Labor chairmanship.
