Former Prime Minister Ehud Barak's lukewarm relationship with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert turned cooler Sunday when he said he probably would leave the government coalition if elected chairman of the Labor party.
Barak and Knesset Member Ami Ayalon are the prime contenders for the Labor leadership spot in primaries scheduled for the end of this month. Since Labor is the second largest party in the coalition, either man could topple the Olmert government by pulling Labor out.
Barak previously had been touted as a replacement for Amir Peretz as Defense Minister, but the recently-published interim report of the Winograd Comission criticized the unilateral and rapid withdrawal of the army from Lebanon in 2000, when Barak was Prime Minister.
Meanwhile, the harsh criticism of Olmert’s management of the war has prompted calls from politicians and grassroots citizens for Prime Minister Olmert to resign, which he has refused to do.
The publication of Prime Minister Olmert’s testimony to the Commission has been postponed again, this time until next week. The testimony was originally supposed to be released by April 2, but the date has been repeatedly pushed off.
Commission members explained the latest delay on Sunday, saying that they have not yet finished reviewing Olmert’s testimony to determine which parts must be censored out of the publicized version for security reasons. Sources close to the commission said the release of Olmert’s testimony will probably increase calls for him to resign.
Prime Minister Olmert is facing several other fronts in his battle to keep his job, as numerous investigations into suspicions of corruption and fraud in his past positions continue to dog him.
Moreover, his hand-picked Finance Minister, Avraham Hirschson has also been forced to suspend himself in the face of an investigation into similar charges. The Prime Minister attempted to take control of the Finance portfolio in the wake of Hirschson’s suspension, but Attorney General Menachem Mazuz blocked him, saying the move was inappropriate given his current status as a suspect in the corruption scandals.
Defense Minister Facing a Fight of His Own
The Defense Minister was also severely criticized by the Winograd Commission for his performance during the war, particularly for his lack of experience in the field and his not having consulted more with experts in the defense establishment. The transcript of testimonies by Peretz and former IDF Chief of Staff Dan Halutz to the Commission will be released on Wednesday or Thursday. The former IDF Chief of Staff has already quit.
Peretz has decided he will step down from his post after the Labor Party primaries and insist on taking the Finance portfolio. He had initially fought to obtain the Finance portfolio when Labor first joined the coalition but Olmert’s Kadima party refused to relinquish control of the pivotal position.
The Defense Minister’s gesture might shortly become moot, however, as he faces the difficult battle to retain his position as Chairman of his Labor party. Peretz faces competition in the party primaries from two experienced leaders – former Prime Minister Ehud Barak and MK Ami Ayalon, former Director of the General Security Services (Shin Bet).