Peretz. Insulted
Photo: Gil Yohanan
Olmert. Wants to flex his muscles
Photo: AFP
Battle of government egos
Olmert may play on Peretz's fears, but latter seems to forget just who's in charge here
It is reasonable to assume that anything that looks like an ego problem, sounds like an ego problem and speaks like an ego problem, probably is an ego problem.
This has nothing to do with the national health basket, the country's defense budget or anything else that would cause the people of this country to lose sleep. Amir Peretz is insulted over here, Ehud Olmert wants to flex his muscles over there.
In order to remove any doubt, the well-planned tensions between the prime minister and his defense minister – stems – as always in politics – from reasons that have their roots in nursery school.
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But essentially, the main problem with this picture is that each of them have serious ego problems, and both want to take advantage of the current situation at the other's expense.
Character problem
The heart of this tension is to be found in each one's character. It would seem that each one suffers from an over abundance of self-confidence, from an over-abundant ability to broadcast a feeling that everything is under control.
In actual fact, however, the opposite is true: Both men suffer from an acute lack of self-confidence. Their exaggerated confidence they display is no more than a cover for the things that frighten them, and for the other's feelings of inferiority.
Peretz thinks everyone – from the prime minister to the chief of staff and other senior IDF generals to members of the Labor Party – are out to get him. And Olmert, for his part, is sure that if he lets Amir stand out, people will think he lacks control of the situation.
Natural suspicions
Less than a month into the government's term of office, we can expect these two very extroverted, power-hungry men to fight each other for credit in the media and with the public. Labor Chairman Peretz, naturally suspicious and sure everyone is trying to trip him up, feels that Olmert is playing games with him.
On the other hand, he himself is give to forgetting who here is prime minister and who isn't. He can't seem to remember who won the March 28 election and who lost, and who is supposed to be running this show – and who is only the minister of defense.
And in the meanwhile, the prime minister has proven he has no intention of giving up in this fight. Just like in nursery school, the main thing is for the other guy to look smaller.
Labor complaints
"Olmert can't hold himself back," complain senior Labor Party officials. "He is power-hungry. That's the problem. There is no one close to the prime minister that can calm him down, or who can stop him running after all the credit.
"There is no one to tell him, 'This is not the way to build confidence.' "
In other words, too often the pat on the back goes to Olmert, and it is always at the expense of the Labor Party. They also accuse Finance Minister Avraham Hirchson of creating extraneous tension.
"Hirchson is making no great efforts to build confidence with the other ministers," complains one senior Labor minister. "He is unwilling to commit to anything, and leaves everything to the last minute. This creates a situation of uncertainty. This also creates tension."
Giving credit
Peretz himself, say his advisors, doesn't like what Olmert is trying to do to him. But overall, relations between the two are good, certainly better than they are portrayed in the media.
"It would be better for Olmert to be a bit more decent, a bit more honest. After all, Amir and the Labor Party suggested a way to solve the recent health basket crisis.
"We understand the prime minister wants some benefit from it, but he should also give credit where credit is due."
Another Labor minister said that Peretz's greatest fear is that they will try to portray him as anti-social. "He is hurt by the fact that they trap him."
Trapped
But if it seems this tension will lead to the government's fall in the near future, guess again: The government will not break up due to a test of egos between the prime and defense ministers, at least not at this stage.
It won't fall apart because Olmert and Peretz are each caught in a trap. Each is a prisoner of the other, and each must find a way to live with the fears of the other.
And lest we forget, both are still in basic training, pretty scared, and neither knows just what to do with the good fortune that suddenly fell in their laps.
Or, as one politician once said: "Why, where are they going to go? No one has got any teeth."
