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Israel Political Race Too Close to Call NewsMax.com Wires JERUSALEM -- A divided Labor Party voted Monday for a leader in a contest that could send Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's ruling coalition veering to the hawkish right, or threaten his political survival. Exit polls indicated the race between former Prime Minister Ehud Barak and a political newcomer was too close to call - and neither man had enough votes to avoid a runoff. Ami Ayalon, a dovish former internal security agency head, has pledged to lead the centrist Labor out of its year-old partnership with Olmert if the prime minister's Kadima Party doesn't choose a new leader - a move that could force Olmert to co-opt lawmakers from other parties who take a hard line toward the Palestinians, or renew pressure on him to resign. Barak says he would serve in an Olmert government, while working within parliament to topple the Israeli leader and call early elections. A Channel Two television poll declared Ayalon, a former navy admiral and head of Israel's Shin Bet security agency, the winner, while an Israel TV poll said Barak received the most votes. Both polls, however, showed the men falling short of the 40 percent threshold needed to avoid a runoff. If the results hold up, a runoff will be held June 12. The Channel Two poll said Ayalon 39 percent of the vote, compared to 33 percent for Barak and 19 percent for the current party leader, Amir Peretz. Story Continues Below
The Israel TV poll said Barak received 38 percent, compared to 36 percent for Ayalon and 17 percent for Peretz. Neither poll gave a margin of error. Some senior Labor officials oppose upsetting the ruling coalition, and their opinion might prevail. But should the 19-member Labor faction bolt, the prime minister could be forced to prop up his government with religious or hawkish parties opposed to concessions to the Palestinians. Alternatively, with Labor demanding that he step down, the embattled Olmert might face new pressure within Kadima to comply. Elections, meanwhile, aren't an attractive option in the short term because none of the coalition partners - including Labor - would come out strengthened, polls show. The current party leader, Defense Minister Amir Peretz, took the chairmanship less than two years ago in an upset victory that had media and commentators forecasting a new era for Israeli politics. Peretz, a fiery union leader of Moroccan descent, unseated veteran statesman Shimon Peres of the ruling Israeli elite, which hails from eastern Europe, on a platform of greater social and economic equality. But political maneuvering kept him out of the finance minister's post he coveted, and Peretz's political star quickly sank following Israel's flawed war against Lebanese guerrillas last summer. Peretz, who has said he would leave the defense job after Monday's primaries, placed a distant third in the polls leading up to the race. Despite their criticism of Olmert, both Ayalon and Barak appear reluctant to push too hard for his immediate ouster. Opinion polls show that both men would lose an election to former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, head of the hard-line Likud Party. As a political newcomer, Ayalon could use some time to build his popularity inside Labor and with the general public. "I think many people understand that we are, in fact, not just voting on the future of the Labor Party but to a very large extent on the future leadership of the state of Israel," he said at the northern Israel polling station where he cast his vote. Barak, unseated as premier after less than two years following the eruption of the ongoing Palestinian uprising seven years ago, needs to rehabilitate his tarnished public image. Casting his ballot in the central city of Kfar Saba, he touted his defense credentials and raised the specter of a Netanyahu premiership. "I tell voters only two things: I tell them to think about who they want more in a time of war, and I tell them that only with me heading our team can we beat Netanyahu," he said. Barak, a former military chief and the country's most-decorated soldier, and Ayalon, who also served as a former naval chief, are each expected to seek the defense portfolio if he wins.
© 2007 Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Editor's note: Read more on this subject in related Hot Topics:
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