Fresh faces in the frame as Meretz selects roster

About 1,000 Meretz members who are eligible to vote in the primary are expected to converge on the Israel Trade Fairs and Convention Center at Tel Aviv's Hayarkon Park this afternoon to choose the list of Knesset hopefuls for their party.

The use of the traditional, hand-written ballots will avoid the embarrassment suffered by both Likud and Labor when they opted to introduce computerized voting.

The departure of MKs Yossi Beilin and Ran Cohen from the party has enabled the introduction of new blood to the Meretz slate, for the first time in years. In various forums the party's voters have expressed a desire for fresh faces, regardless of what happens with the partnership shaping up between Meretz and the new leftist movement.

Groups of five

Each voter who reports to the north Tel Aviv polling station today will be given a form for ranking the 22 candidates in groups of five, in order of preference. The latest public opinion polls give Meretz about seven Knesset seats in the upcoming election.

Only the top spot on the list, that of party chairman MK Haim Oron, is guaranteed. The party's top three lights after him, MKs Zahava Gal-On and Avshalom Vilan and former MK Ilan Ghilon, are expected to fight it out for spots two through four. After that is where it could get interesting. One of the younger hopefuls - Uri Zaki, Ro'i Peled or Yossi Malka - could grab fifth place, but it also might go to former MK Mossi Raz. The number-six spot is reserved for a woman; MK Tsvia Greenfeld, who entered the legislature only in April, is considered the front-runner. Other contenders for this slot include Issawi Freij, Michal Rosin and Gaby Lasky.

Each candidate can bid for inclusion in either the first or second group of five, or in both. Even in a leftist party like Meretz, various lists of recommended candidates have been drafted and cooperation deals have been forged among candidates.

A main core of party support is party members who are also kibbutz members. They are represented by Meretz chairman Oron as well as by Vilan.

The recent announcement by Kibbutz Movement Secretary General Gavri Bargil that he, too, wanted to vie for a place in the top five caused a fracas among the kibbutzim. They fear that too heavy a kibbutz presence too high up on the party list will hurt the party by making it appear as if Meretz is pandering to that population.

The horse-trading over the integration of the new left alignment with Meretz will begin as soon as the primary results are in tonight. The new movement's organizing committee will work out its own Knesset slate and present it to Meretz later this week.

Most of the talks will focus on the precise way in which the two lists will be merged. Disgruntlement is increasingly being expressed within Meretz, where there is a growing reluctance to make room for candidates from the new movement who lack the political weight to draw votes.