Pines-Paz endorses Barak for Labor chairman
MK declares his support for former prime minister in joint press conference, in which both call on Olmert to resign before publication of final Winograd report
"I see Ophir as a friend, and I hope this partnership will continue and will be a long-term partnership with the large beehive around me," Barak said.
During a joint press conference, the former prime minister addressed the conclusions of the interim Winograd report regarding the government's conduct during the Second Lebanon War. He said that he would not accept a situation in which Ehud Olmert remained prime minister by the time the final report was published.
"I plan to present the Labor's Central Committee with a resolution regarding the Winograd Commission: The prime minister must draw personal conclusions and resign, as did (former IDF Chief of Staff) Dan Halutz and (Defense Minister Amir) Peretz, each in his own way," Barak said.
"If he fails to do so, we will be forced to violate the partnership and work for the establishment of a new government. I would like to present this resolution, which will enable all parts of the party to work together, and as the party's chairman I plan to work firmly and allow the resolution to be adopted by the party."
Pines-Paz spoke about his decision to endorse Barak. "Unfortunately, in our discussions Ami Ayalon failed to form an opinion on what he plans to present the Central Committee with. I could not accept that under any circumstances. On the other hand, the statements made by Ehud Barak today create a moral standard.
"We cannot ignore such things in the State of Israel, in the next three to four months in which the Olmert government stays in office until the publication of the Winograd Commission's final report, I will not be part of it for any job in the world.
"I believe that Barak, with the way he offers today, can lead the Labor Party to return and become an alternative ruling party," Pines-Paz said.
