No one can say for sure that Avraham Burg will indeed assume
the post of Labor Party chairman, for Ben Eliezer has already
announced that he will take whatever steps necessary to unveil
what he calls "the hijacking of the elections and ballot
fraud." However, with all due respect to the legal process,
the chances of altering the results are next to nothing. The
courts only change election results under rare circumstances,
and this case is unlikely to fall in that category.
Ariel Sharon and Shimon Peres, and their respective
associates, are also gradually adjusting to the fact that
Avraham Burg has won the elections and to the very real
possibility of a withdrawal by the Labor Party and a blow to
the unity government. This is not to say that tomorrow morning
Burg will make a move to resign from the government, but
eventually it is bound to happen. Had Ben Eliezer been
elected, it would have been much slower in coming if at
all.
Sharon has already prepared a number of alternatives, such as
the Center Party for instance, which joined the coalition
government just two weeks ago. The addition of the NRP will
help preserve the coalition majority, and Gesher's three MKs,
headed by David Levy, would also be very glad to join forces
with Sharon--assuming a suitable dowry is offered, in the form
of one of the leading portfolios for David Levy. If the Labor
Party resigns, Sharon would definitely have the goods needed
to satisfy Levy.
The big question is what will become of Shimon Peres. At the
ripe old age of 78, Peres is not about to go work under a
leader who is 30 years his junior, even if the man chosen for
the job was once his protege. If Burg decides to pull the
Labor Party out of the government, where would that leave
Peres?
Peres is expected by many to remain in Sharon's government as
Foreign Minister, even if his party resigns. Peres no longer
has anything to lose. By the time of the next elections, he
will already be 80, so his political future is not at stake.
His future is already behind him. What's the worst that could
happen? Such a move could require that he resign from the
Labor Party and from the Knesset. He would remain a minister,
but give up his seat in the Knesset--no great loss for him.
This deal would mean Peres could remain influential, and it
would prevent Sharon's government, following the withdrawal of
the Labor Party, from being completely associated with the far
Right--with all that implies. Keeping Peres in the government
would allow Sharon to moderate this image both here and
abroad, and would provide him with the left-wing
representation he needs.
Members of both camps claim an agreement has already been
reached to retain Peres as foreign minister. Furthermore, they
claim, such an understanding was already reached when the
unity government was set up. At the time both Sharon and Peres
considered the possibility that the Labor Party might be
forced to withdraw at some point.
Peres' friend Moshe Dayan already set a precedent for such a
move. When Menachem Begin first took over the Prime Minister's
office, Moshe Dayan was chosen for Labor's Knesset list.
Following the elections, Dayan personally joined the
government as foreign minister, and resigned from the Labor
Party without returning its Knesset mandate. Dayan was much
younger than Peres at the time, but he felt no inclination to
sit on the opposition bench. Having served as commander-in-
chief and defense minister for many years, he found the
prospects of once again becoming a regular MK wholly
unappealing.
The move proved to be worthwhile for both Dayan and Begin.
Dayan received a prestigious post that allowed him to remain a
central figure in national affairs, and he helped Begin's
government to be perceived as a legitimate government rather
than an extreme right-wing regime.
If Dayan was able to save Begin's reputation, certainly Peres
can be a great asset for Sharon. He is older than Dayan was,
more experienced, and for him resigning from the government
would spell the end of his political career, which he would
like to push off as long as possible. This package deal would
be just as worthwhile for Sharon as it was for Begin, and
might be even more valuable. If both sides are willing, there
is nothing to prevent the deal from going through.
Courage
One of the most powerful figures in Israel is High Court
President Aharon Barak. He has the power and authority to make
binding decisions on almost any issue, whether it applies to
individuals or to the public.
It is only natural that no one in the political establishment
wants challenge him by directing serious criticism against
him. No one wants to be hounded by the court system and
everyone would like his own needs and requests to be heard in
the High Court.
But to every rule there is an exception. In this case, the
renegade is Yigal Bibi of the NRP, who has the courage to
constantly launch severe attacks against Barak.
Several months ago Barak participated in an event held by the
Knesset in honor of its long-time legal advisor, Tzvi Avner,
upon his retirement. Barak appeared in the Knesset auditorium
and delivered a long, scholarly lecture on the issue of the
constitutional court, stating his reasons for firmly opposing
its founding.
Barak addressed this issue in light of the fact that the
Knesset had approved a bill to set up a constitutional court
in a preliminary reading with an impressive majority of 52 to
27, and since the Knesset Legislative Committee was supposed
to continue discussing the issue in preparation for a first
reading.
The High Court President is afraid of a constitutional court.
He claims it is a dangerous idea that could bring tragedy upon
the trial system, making it subject to politics. Barak's
opponents claim that his opposition is entirely personal,
since Barak sees the establishment of a special court
authorized to decide ethical and constitutional issues that
are currently decided by the High Court, as a threat to his
stature and the stature of the High Court.
Many MKs, both supporters and opponents, heard Barak's lecture
in the Knesset. But only one MK--Yigal Bibi--had the courage
to heckle him during the course of his speech with shouts of
"Chutzpah! Chutzpah!" He was furious that Barak had the
gall to come to the Knesset and carp at MKs.
Last month the Knesset Legislative Committee held several
meetings on the issue of a constitution and a constitutional
court. MKs were surprised to see Committee Chairman Ofir
Pines, who supports Barak's position, arrive at an agreement
with one of the bill's leading supporters, Eliezer Cohen
(Yisrael Beitenu), to divide the two parts of the law: the
drafting of the constitution and the set up of the
constitutional court. According to their agreement, the
constitution would be advanced while the law to set up a
constitutional court would be shelved for now.
The committee's religious MKs, led by Deputy Minister Rabbi
Avraham Ravitz, were irate over the agreement and insisted
that it would not be honored. They are unwilling to allow a
constitution to be legislated in the State of Israel without
setting up a constitutional court, since under present
circumstances, questions of interpretation would come before
the High Court -- and everyone knows what would happen
there.
Before one of the discussions on the issue of setting up a
constitutional court held about a week ago, Yigal Bibi resumed
his one-man offensive against Barak by sending him a letter
demanding that he stop blackmailing the political system.
In the letter Bibi claimed that Barak is using his power as
head of the legal system to block the ratification of the law
and the establishment of a constitutional court. "Blackmail
comes in many forms. Sometimes blackmail is designed to obtain
money, sometimes blackmail is designed to receive benefits and
sometimes blackmail is designed to promote conceptual
objectives or positions of power. Taking advantage of the
power of the ruling system in any manner in order to promote
its objectives is also a form of blackmail," wrote Bibi in his
letter to Barak.
Later in the letter he cited several examples of alleged
incidents of blackmail against political figures and parties,
all of which, he says, were intended to discourage these
politicians from voting in favor of the constitutional
court.
The cutting letter might be unprecedented. It is highly
unlikely that there is such a harsh, acrimonious letter in the
archives of the high court president or any other judge, sent
by a political personality of Yigal Bibi's stature, as an MK
and a former deputy minister and mayor.
During the committee meeting Yigal Bibi did not mince words,
saying "the High Court has caused tremendous damage to the
State of Israel. The moment the judicial authority has the
power to annul our laws, the laws of the Knesset, we will face
anarchy. We are being blackmailed by the judges."
During the same meeting Rabbi Ravitz also took issue with the
High Court, criticizing it in extremely acerbic terms: "The
High Court has lost its bearings and has crossed the lines. A
great tragedy has befallen--it has lost the faith of large
segments of the population. It has cut off the hand that feeds
it."
