Veiled threats
Vowing that no one will force him to leave the government, Defense Minister Ehud Barak issues a veiled threat to leave the government. "I'll do whatever it takes for the good of the country, without threatening anyone," Barak said. "No one has ever forced me into anything, and no one will force me to do anything now."Never a dull moment on the political front here.
"It's natural that ministers don't want to be seen as trying to hold on to their seats. They're only expressing their opinion," he explained to Israel Radio.
Barak also said that Israel is at a "critical point," adding that "we must completely change our relationship with the United States, and the prime minister has started doing so in his important last meeting in Washington. Israel has to be truly ready to discuss all of the important matters in an agreement with the Palestinians, and maybe the Syrians."
Despite saying that he does not plan to leave the government, Barak emphasized that he may do so in the future, if Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's government can not reach an agreement with the Palestinians.
"If this government can do that, that's good, but if we can't make progress with this government, we should consider widening the coalition," Barak said, hinting at the possibility of adding Kadima. "If we can't widen the coalition, then the Labor Party will have to think about leaving."
Barak added that his party is not afraid to leave the coalition if necessary: "I don't need to be pushed by any minister to go. I went further than any other living person in Israel to try to reach an agreement. I was willing to take the risks and pay the price. I'm not blinking and I won't flinch, and I'm making efforts now so that this government will move. I don't need to be persuaded by authors or former politicians."
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 7:50 AM
1 Comments:
Its evident Ehud Barak is trying to defend himself from pressure from Labor's Left to leave the government. The rest of it... every one in Israel knows the Palestinians are not ready for peace in our generation. This is a fact of life that Israel's politicians still have to come to terms with. We are already living in the post-Oslo world and Israel's leaders still live in the past.
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