VARIOUS: Israel's Labour party holds leadership election

Five candidates are running for the leadership of Israel's Labour party, the biggest coalition partner in Ehud Olmert's government. The party is currently headed by Defence Minister Amir Peretz. Israel's influential Labour Party holds a primary election on Monday (May 28) that polls predict will oust Defence Minister Amir Peretz as its leader in a possible short-term boost for Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's coalition government. More than 103,000 party members will cast their votes in polls across the country to elect a leader from among five candidates. Polls opened at 0830am local time (0530 GMT) and will close at 2100 (1800 GMT). The vote may also be a referendum on whether traditionally dovish Labour, Olmert's biggest coalition partner, should continue to support the embattled prime minister despite findings of an official inquiry into last year's Lebanon war and a deadlock in peacemaking. The Winograd Commission's inquiry slammed Peretz, a former trade union chief, and Olmert over their handling of the 34-day offensive against Hezbollah guerrillas. As former trade union leader with no top-level military experience, Peretz was an unlikely choice to become Israel's defence minister. Peretz's tenure as party chairman has been overshadowed by his role during last summer's war against Hezbollah militants in Lebanon. Peretz's political weakness has set up a showdown in Monday's primary between two old warriors -- former Prime Minister Ehud Barak and ex-admiral Ami Ayalon. Recent polls showed that Barak and Ayalon are running nearly neck and neck, but neither expected to win a minimum of 40 percent of the vote required to win the race and to avoid a runoff in two weeks. Barak has censured Olmert yet said he would serve under him, bringing a much-needed military pedigree to the government as Olmert deals with Palestinian rocket attacks and what Israel sees as a strategic threat posed by Iran's nuclear programme. But Barak is hounded by memories of his divisive diplomacy while premier from 1999 to 2001, including unilateral withdrawal from occupied south Lebanon and a botched peace summit with the Palestinians which led to major conflicts on both fronts. Ayalon is a former security chief turned peace campaigner, whose corruption-free image appeals to Labour members dismayed over graft allegations against Olmert. Backing out of politics after losing the 2001 national election, Barak became a high-flying international business consultant, raising hackles among Labour's rank-and-file, and drawing headlines by divorcing his wife of many years. But many in centre-left Labour feel that, with a newcomer like Ayalon at the helm, their party would fare badly in a future run against Olmert's centrist Kadima or the rightist Likud led by former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Ayalon has called for Olmert to resign over the Lebanon war, but signalled that he would not withdraw from the government. That spells a clash that could prompt the prime minister to dump Labour and seek new partners on the political right. Israeli Parliament (Knesset) members Ophir Pines-Paz and Danny Yatom are also competing in the race, but polls show they are expected to win two to eight percent each. Pines-Paz, who at 45 is the youngest of the contenders, has been arguing that the Labour party cannot remain in an Olmert-led government, and demanded Olmert to resign. Yatom, a former head of Israel's Mossad intelligence agency, also called for Olmert to resign. Polls show Yatom is expected to win the least votes. ENDS.

ITN Source | May 28, 2007

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