Coalition Positioning and Machinations Continue, Michael Eitan Seeking Likud Stepping Stone?

Coalition Deal Leads to Labor ‘Crisis’

Excerpts;

Labor Party chairman Amir Peretz may have characterized his meeting on Monday with Interim Prime Minister Ehud Olmert as “good” but his somber stroll through the Knesset Monday told a different story of what awaits him in the party ranks.

Labor MKs confirmed that there was a “crisis” in the party over Peretz’s handling of the coalition talks and the ministerial portfolios allotted to Labor. Tempers that had flared over the weekend were inflamed when the party was notified that Peretz had agreed to cancel the deputy ministerial positions.

“This is not the way to be a leader. There is a feeling that he read some of the newspapers criticizing him, and then just bowed in to the public pressure,” said one veteran Labor MK.

Newspapers Monday were awash with articles criticizing the size of the government arranged by Olmert.

Although aides to Peretz said that he anticipated no problems passing the measures through the committee, several party officials appeared to be plotting behind the chairman’s back to petition the committee to dismiss the recommendations.

“There are a lot of unhappy people in the party right now who are beginning to band to together to take their issues to the committee,” said one senior Labor official. The official added that MKs Danny Yatom, Matan Vilna’i, and Ophir Pas-Pines were among those contesting Peretz’s appointments.

“Peretz got defense for himself and education for [MK Yuli] Tamir but he did not work hard to please the rest of us,” said one Labor MK. In addition to obtaining the Ministry of Defense and Ministry of Education, the Agriculture Ministry is slated for MK Shalom Simhon and the Ministry of National Infrastructure for Binyamin Ben-Eleizer.

Continue reading Coalition Deal Leads to Labor ‘Crisis’

Michael Eitan Offers to Lead Likud

Excerpts;

Amidst the battle between Likud chairman Binyamin Netanyahu and his number two, MK Silvan Shalom, Likud MK Michael Eitan called a press conference at the party’s Tel Aviv headquarters on Monday to offer a solution to the feud: himself.

Eitan said the Likud should appoint him as temporary chairman until an election could be held to elect a permanent leader who would be its candidate for prime minister in the next election.

Vowing to not run for the permanent post, Eitan formed a new movement within the Likud called Ofek Hadash (New Horizon) that he said he would use to help the party recover from its downfall from 40 seats to 12 under Netanyahu.

Continue reading Michael Eitan Offers to Lead Likud

Commentary;

Doesn’t anyone still recall who made a similar vow in 1999 to become temporary leader and not run for the permanent post? Kinda seems like we’ve “been there, done that” and got burned to put it mildly. MB