Labor MK Uzi Bar’am announced his retirement from politics today. Long considered to be a political opponent of Ehud Barak, Bar’am has been a Knesset Member since 1977, and served as Minister of Tourism in the Rabin-Peres government. He is the third Labor MK to announce his resignation since the crushing electoral defeat of last week, following Barak and Eli Goldshmidt.
Labor MK Yael Dayan bemoaned what she called the “continuing crumbling” of the party. Given the apparent majority in the party for joining a unity government, Justice Minister Yossi Beilin is also likely to quit, and may form a new left-wing party with Meretz and MK Roman Bronfman. The race for Labor party leadership is likely to be between Avraham Burg, backed by Chaim Ramon, and Binyamin Ben-Eliezer, with the possible support of Shlomo Ben-Ami.