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Coalition of the frustrated waiting for Peretz

The Labor Party chairman had better move quickly to consolidate his power

Amir Peretz's slim victory at the Labor Party Central Committee Sunday shows one thing very clearly: The chairman has yet to solidify his control of the party and its institutions. This fact, together with the embittered, the frustrated and those who still cannot come to terms with the fact that Peretz is actually the chairman of the Labor Party, should set off several warning bells for the chairman.

 

Peretz, of course, denies this is the case. But regardless of what he says, this vote was not only for a list of government ministers. It was also a personal vote on Peretz himself, about his image, and mainly – the image of his power in the party he took by storm just a few months ago.

 

Some large camps in the Central Committee officially backed Peretz, but it appeared that in at least some factions – the kibbutzim, for example – members publicly said they would support Peretz, but when it came time to cast their votes, failed to come through.

 

Just as they did during the election campaign. Or, in other, courser words, the kibbutzim sent a clear message to Amir Peretz: You may be the chairman of the Labor Party, you may have lead our campaign in the elections and led us to the Knesset and the government, but let's be clear – we don't like you, we can't stand the fact that you, of all people, are the party chairman.

 

Pointing fingers

 

Peretz himself, by the way, doesn't blame the kibbutzniks. He says the powers-that-be in this sector have divided the way they naturally should have, and until two days ago, he believed that he would lose on a secret ballot.

 

But Peretz's advisors do blame the kibbutzim for the small gap by which Peretz won Sunday's vote. One can try to analyze the kibbutznik's behavior – they accuse Peretz of conducting a sneaky plan – but there's not really any point to doing so. The reasons that so many kibbutzniks can't stand Amir Peretz was been discussed to death during the recent election campaign, when many Labor Party veterans jumped ship for Kadima, together with Shimon Peres.

 

In any event, what is clear is that if Peretz wants to fortify his power base inside the Labor Party, he will have to work hard, very hard. No less important, he will have to work very fast, and be very aggressive.

 

Coalition of the frustrated

 

Sunday's vote proved three things: That Peretz faces substantial opposition inside the party, that the Central Committee is (naturally) in no hurry to give up its power, and that if the chairman is not careful and doesn't move quickly – there are people waiting for him in the corner.

 

The "coalition of the frustrated," consisting of Matan Vilnai, Dani Yatom, Ami Ayalon, Avishay Braverman and maybe even Ehud Barak (who made no special efforts to be involved) has managed to incite the winds in the party's central committee and to send a clear message to Peretz: You may have come into the house, but the folks in the other rooms aren't all your friends. Other senior party figures have also acted, both in full view and behind the scenes.

 

The internal fermentation that has gripped the Labor Party the past couple of weeks, together with Vilnai's frontal attack against Peretz last weekend, has created a situation in which even people who were previously disposed to automatically throwing their support behind Peretz – made a sharp about face when it came time to vote, and voted against the chairman and his wishes.

 

Fierce battle

 

Now, Peretz's internal battle to fortify his power inside the party has begun. The battle promises to be fierce.

 

The new members of the Central Committee, for instance, are expected to play a central role in this battle, one in which even those who supported Peretz Sunday cannot be expected to remain in his corner in future. That's the way it is in politics: temporary alliances are just that – temporary. Each of the six Labor ministers will fight for their power in the Central Committee, when Amir Peretz tries to push his people forward.

 

This fight will see Ophir Pines-Paz, Yitzhak Herzog, Shalom Simhon, Yuli Tamir and maybe even Binyamin Ben-Eliezer – who wants to be the country's next president – fighting to preserve their power in the Central Committee.

 

Because a coalition with Amir Peretz is fine, and being chosen for a government ministry is even better, but no more. For those who may have forgotten, Ophir Pines-Paz, sees himself as Labor Party chairman, sooner or later. Therefore, one can assume that the real battle has only just begun.

 

Amir Peretz can expect some difficult days ahead, in a party well practiced in driving party chairmen into the ground.

 


פרסום ראשון: 05.01.06, 10:18
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