Barak says won't quit party
Photo: Dudi Vaaknin
Barak says will stay in Labor no matter what
Defense minister, in favor of forming unity coalition under Likud, tries to allay fears of party split. Meanwhile, other Labor members emphasize Barak 'not irreplaceable'
Two days before a Labor meeting will determine whether the party will join a Likud-led coalition headed by Prime Minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister and Party Chairman Ehud Barak said he would remain in the Labor party regardless of its decision to join a unity government or remain in the opposition.
Prior to this statement, Barak has remained quiet about his intentions in this regard and members of the political establishment posited a potential split among the Labor party or an event similar to that of Moshe Dayan in 1977, who left his party to serve as foreign minister under Menachem Begin.
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Education Minister Prof. Yuli Tamir (Labor) emphasized that the party could survive if Barak doesn't stand behind his word. "I think that there's no one, no matter how good, who cannot be replaced. The question isn't about Barak, but about all of Israel."
Minister of Religious Affairs Yitzhak Cohen, whose Shas party is in favor of Labor joining the coalition, said "Ehud Barak needs to be defense minister. He proved this during his behavior in Operation Cast Lead. His talents and abilities are very valuable."
Kadima wants Labor in opposition
Members of Kadima called on Barak to stay in the opposition. Environment Minister Gideon Ezra stressed that "it's good for there to be a strong opposition. If Barak would have asked me, I would have said that he influence in the government would be less than his influence in the opposition, because the government could come to decisions to which he was opposed."
Opponents to Labor joining the coalition censured Barak strongly in recent days for his support of the idea. The Labor Party's Young Guard, in a recent gathering, said that Labor's participation in a Netanyahu-led coalition would spell an end to the party and turn Kadima into the only political alternative available to the public.
MK Ophir Pines-Paz, also opposed to the idea, emphasized that the struggle is over the party's respect to its founders and to its younger generation.
A number of Labor politicians do support Barak's desire to join the coalition, including Agriculture Minister Shalom Simhon and National Infrastructure Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer, MKs Orit Noked and Matan Vilnai, and head of the Histradrut Labor Federation Ofer Eini.
