Labor’s new party chairman, following the abrupt departure of Ehud Barak, is former Industry Minister Micha Harish, and he began work today. 69% believe he'll fail, a poll shows.
Harish, 75, was chosen by the eight remaining party MKs to lead Labor for the interim until a permanent chairman is chosen. No date has yet been set for elections. Harish was chosen largely for his having stayed away from internal party politics in recent years and for his administrative abilities.
A Knesset Member from 1973 until 1996, Harish met today with Labor’s Secretary-General Hilik Barr for over three hours. They discussed the party’s failing finances, preparations for a new membership drive, and the like.
Barak Leaves Party in Shambles
Barak left the party in shambles when he abruptly quit last week, taking with him four other MKs and forming a new faction called Independence. He explained that the demands and ultimatums issued him by his party MKs to lead the party out of the government coalition prevented the government from accomplishing its goals.
His party rivals, on the other hand, attack him for having no ideology and for doing whatever he can simply to retain his position as Defense Minister.
69% Believe Harish Will Not Succeed
Labor's remaining 8 MKs are not united amongst themselves either, casting doubt on Harish’s ability to actually rebuild the party. Nearly 70% of the public, in fact, does not believe that Labor will succeed in rehabilitating itself. So found a poll by the Dahaf Institute for the Knesset Channel.
The poll also found that 45% of the public feels that there is no connection between the values of Labor’s forerunner, David Ben-Gurion’s Mapai party. Rabbi Daniel Shilo of Kedumim actually called on Labor to return to its Landof Israel values, saying, “I still remember during the Mandate period when party members sang homeland songs, and talk of land of our inheritance and the Promised Land was often on their lips. Though they were not religiously observant, it was clear to them that this land is the cradle of our culture, and that the Bible is our mandate for this land.”
The public does not have much respect for Barak’s Independencefaction, either; 75% feel it has no diplomatic platform, and 70% say it has no social platform.
Despite Labor’s waning fortunes, it appears that the race for its chairman, whenever it is held, will have several contestants. Among them will apparently be just-resigned Welfare Minister Yitzchak Herzog, MK Shelly Yechimovitch, Maalot Mayor Shlomo Buchbut, and others.