Subscribe to Print Edition | Wed., February 11, 2009 Shvat 17, 5769 | | Israel Time: 09:41 (EST+7)
Haaretz israel news English
web haaretz.com
Haaretz Toolbar
Diplomacy
Defense Jewish World Opinion National
Print Edition
Car Rental
Books Haaretz Magazine Business Real Estate Joy of Giving Travel Week's End Anglo File
Daniel Ben Simon.
Last update - 09:40 11/02/2009
Barak: Labor not averse to leading from within opposition
By Yuval Azoulay, Haaretz Correspondent
Tags: Israel news, Ehud Barak 

As exit polls were released late Tuesday, predicting 13 seats for the Labor Party and placing it fourth after Kadima, Likud and Yisrael Beiteinu, Labor Chairman and Defense Minister Ehud Barak said that his party will not hesitate to go to the opposition.

Click here for exclusive Haaretz coverage of the elections in Israel

"I suggest not putting us anywhere [in the coalition], it is not a given," he clarified. "As we've always done, we will think over what is best for Labor, and more importantly, what is best for the country. We won't serve in a government that isn't established by the specifications of our path, and we won't hesitate to go to the opposition and serve the people from there," Barak continued.
Advertisement
"I intend to leave here, at the helm of the Labor Party, and begin working starting tonight to bring the Labor Party back to where it rightfully belongs," the Labor chairman went on to say.

Barak said that the party knows how to "take blows and recover."

Referring to the possibility of sitting in the opposition, he said "this is an important service, many quality people have been there before me, and it is the place where one can find the path back to power."

Labor Secretary General MK Eitan Cabel also addressed the disappointing results of the exit polls, telling Haaretz that "the mistake was made many years ago, but the peak was when Barak was elected to lead the party, we should have gone to the opposition right then. We were given a second chance after Winograd (commission that investigated the failures of the Second Lebanon War), and even then we didn't do it. Now we are paying the price."

"Labor must do some soul searching after a poor showing," said Cabel.

"We failed," said Education Minister Yuli Tamir. "Now we must accept being in the opposition."

Asked where Labor went wrong, Tamir replied "it is too early to talk about mistakes, but one of the mistakes we made was that instead of talking about Labor's true message, the campaign camouflaged it."

Daniel Ben-Simon, No. 11 on the party list, told Haaretz earlier Tuesday that if the Labor Party won fewer than 20 seats, it would head for the Israeli political wilderness and take its place in the opposition.

The former Haaretz reporter said that Labor had "never felt an acute need to sit in the opposition before a situation like today's. Only as part of the opposition can we lift ourselves up and win."

Ben-Simon added that Labor would "wait for the results, and then decide whether to join the opposition or the coalition government."

Meanwhile, Barak said Monday he would not remain in his ministerial post in the new government if the party did not score more than 20 seats.

"People tell me: 'You should be defense minister,' but I want to say that I will not and could not be Israel's defense minister if Labor doesn't near the 20-seat mark," Barak said during a tree-planting ceremony in Kibbutz Mishmar Hasharon, where he grew up.

Barak then addressed left-of-center voters, urging them not to cast their vote for Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni's Kadima Party.

"Only a strong Labor could be the answer to the right-wing bloc. Center- left people who vote for Kadima are taking a huge gamble," Barak said. "Over a third of Kadima candidates are ardent rightists."

Related articles:
  • Netanyahu says won't name Lieberman defense minister if elected
  • Elections 2009 / Barak: I won't be defense minister if Labor fails to near 20-seat mark
  • Elections 2009 / Kadima: Center-left voters will pick us to ensure Likud defeat
    • Bookmark to del.icio.us  
     
    An apocalyptic vision
    Despite AG request, panel allows far-rightist Marzel to oversee Arab city poll.
    Anti-Semitic tirade
    Senior U.K. diplomat said arrested for cursing Jews in public.
      1.   Dump Barak 07:32  |  MarkC 11/02/09
      2.   Leading from the rear 09:22  |  Natallie Durson 11/02/09
     Haaretz Hot Topics
    Israel 2009 election results
    Israel goes to the polls
    Conflict in Gaza
    Israel vs. Hamas
    Iran: Nuclear and regional ambitions
    More Headlines
    09:37 Kadima, Likud scramble to muster rival coalitions
    09:35 With 99% of votes counted, Kadima leads Likud 28 to 27 seats
    09:13 ANALYSIS / Without Lieberman, Livni has no government
    06:29 OPINION / For the sake of peace, Labor and Kadima must merge
    09:12 View Israel election results by city and sector
    09:39 Netanyahu: Right-wing led by Likud won a clear victory
    09:39 Livni claims victory, declaring 'the people chose Kadima'
    09:39 Lieberman: We hold the key to the next Israeli government
    09:40 Barak: Labor not averse to leading from within opposition
    09:21 Israeli model Bar Refaeli lands Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue cover
    06:43 Success of rightist bloc may propel Netanyahu into PM's chair
    08:33 Akiva Eldar / What is it that draws the masses in Israel to Kadima?
    07:37 Arab media declares early Israel election victory for 'extreme right'
    06:31 Likud supporters still confident, but the passion is gone
    00:42 IN PICTURES / Israelis vote in national elections
    08:37 Key witness in Olmert probe, Talansky, acquitted of Long Island assault charges
    08:56 Poll: 31% of Europeans blame Jews for global financial crisis
    05:44 Will Livni, Netanyahu settle for rotation, sharing premiership?
    05:12 Education revolution: Jewish students to study Mohammed, Arab pupils to learn about Herzl
    Previous Editions
    Special Offers
    Advertisement
    Summer in Israel
    Israeli style - Tzofim Chetz V'Keshet 2009
    Passover Vacations
    The BEST Passover Vacations around ? Mexico, Arizona and Florida
    SURF RAMBAM
    Keep current about new-wave medical care, education and research.
    Camp Kimama Israel 2009
    The best place for your children this summer
    Eldan Rent a Car
    Israel's leading car rental company offers you a 20% discount on online reservations
    Jewish Singles Personal Ads
    Find the love of your life on JDate.com
    Junkyard
    Junk a car - get free towing nationwide and a tax-deductible receipt
    Home | TV | Print Edition | Diplomacy | Opinion | Arts & Leisure | Sports | Jewish World | | Israel 2009 election results
    Site rules | Makom: Engaging on Israel | Search engine marketing
    Haaretz.com, the online edition of Haaretz Newspaper in Israel, offers real-time breaking news, opinions and analysis from Israel and the Middle East. Haaretz.com provides extensive and in-depth coverage of Israel, the Jewish World and the Middle East, including defense, diplomacy, the Arab-Israeli conflict, the peace process, Israeli politics, Jerusalem affairs, international relations, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, the Palestinian Authority, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, the Israeli business world and Jewish life in Israel and the Diaspora.
    © Copyright  Haaretz. All rights reserved