Labor Party Chairman Ehud Barak called Opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu's refusal to participate in an emergency government "a shame", adding that his party "will exhaust every opportunity to establish a stable government with the ability to function and achieve its goals."
Barak went on to say, "At this time Israel needs a national emergency government, not as a slogan but as a real national requirement. I was pleased to hear that Tzipi Livni, after being charged by the president with the task of assembling a government, also joined in the call for a national unity government."
The Labor chairman was addressing his fellow party members at a ceremony in honor of Rosh Hashana. "If we are able to reach a true partnership we will do so happily, but if not, we are not afraid to move on to general elections," he said.
Barak went on to list a number of the country's current issues. "We are in need of strength and responsibility in order to achieve real and stable peace with the Palestinians and Syria.
"The economic Tsunami may overflow from the world to us. The battle for the rule of law must continue.The High Court's independence must be clarified. We must fight against the criminal gangs running rampant in our cities' streets," he said.
The chairman also credited himself with a number of "significant maneuvers" such as "moving up the Kadima primaries, thwarting the attack on the legal system, the battle to enlarge budgets allotted to welfare and defense, and with all of the responsibility I struggle under, the ceasefire with Gaza."