Will knives be pulled out? Following the publication of the final election results ,sources in both the Likud and the Labor Party began referring to the internal struggles expected inside the parties. Labor officials said that the 20 Knesset seats the party gained may seem impressive, but are definitely not enough in order to maintain Amir Peretz's stability.
Senior party officials told Ynet Tuesday night that "20 seats will not necessarily maintain internal peace in the party for Amir."
According to the officials, "it all depends on the way portfolios will be assigned."
Party members began counting the available portfolios and the promises Peretz gave to some of the people, and are waiting for the day when the knives will be pulled out. And this day, it seems, is not far, in light of the fact that quite a few of Labor's senior members, especially those positioned on the top ten spots of the party's Knesset list, expect to receive one of the seven portfolios the party may get once it joins the coalition.
It should be mentioned that for now, the seven portfolios Labor is yearning for are based on the number of portfolios the party received in the last coalition. In light of the split in the political map, it is possible that Labor will eventually have to suffice with a smaller number of portfolios.
"Amir's peace inside the party depends on the fee he will pay to the senior members," a senior party official, who sees himself as a minister in the next government, told Ynet.
"If he gets into trouble with too many people, he will have a problem. Assuming that he will not want to get into trouble with Binyamin Ben-Eliezer, not with Yuli Tamir, not with Ophir Pines and Isaac Herzog, who came in first (in the party's primary elections), and not with Shalom Simhon to whom he promised the agriculture portfolio – he will be forced to hurt other people," the official said.
The names raised as optional for "sacrificing" are: Ami Ayalon, Avishay Braverman, Matan Vilnai, Ephraim Sneh and Eitan Cabel, the party's young secretary-general, who sacrificed himself for Peretz during the election campaign.
"If one looks at reality as it is," a senior party official told Ynet, "then Labor's 20 seats do not necessarily promise peace and stability. Everyone who won't get what they expect to get, will start making themselves heard."
The party is divided over the portfolio Labor should ask for: will it be the Finance Ministry or the Defense Ministry, as some of the party officials recommended to Peretz. The education portfolio could also become an option for Labor, especially in light of the fact that the party raised the banner of social-economic and education issues. Knesset Member Yuli Tamir is a natural candidate for this portfolio.
Peretz, however, may choose not to deal with the big portfolios. Several senior party members have said that a number of significant medium portfolios, which will be reinforced, may be enough for Labor, especially if they deal with issues Peretz committed to act on.
Likud fears economic collapse
In the meantime, Likud officials began talking about the drastic steps Benjamin Netanyahu will have to take in the near future in a bid to stabilize the movement. Party sources told Ynet that in light of the party's collapse in the elections, its debts are expected to increase by tens of millions of shekels.
"Our debts may be higher than those of Labor, and real harsh steps will be taken in the Likud."
It should be noted that Labor Party's debts have amounted to more than NIS 100 million (about USD 21 million) for a several years now.
Likud sources said that the party's officials have been holding talks in the past few days on steps they will apparently have to take in order to prevent an economic collapse. In these discussions, the officials spoke about laying off party employees and shutting down a large number of offices across the country.
According to sources in the Likud administration, about 10 to 12 veteran secretaries will remain in the party, while the new ones will be dismissed. As for the offices, the Likud has dozens of branches across the country, the operation of which is very costly. The Likud administration plans to shut down many of the offices and implement significant cuts in the operation of old Likud institutions.