Israeli minister estimates new opposition grouping in fall
In an interview with Al-Monitor, Israeli Environmental Protection Minister Amir Peretz foresees possible changes in the makeup of the government in October or November, and emphasizes the important role of Hatnua Chairwoman Tzipi Livni in preventing a premature collapse of the diplomatic negotiations.
“I estimate that by October-November all the central questions related to the possibility of forming a new opposition or a new coalition will have been clarified.”
This forecast was made by Minister of Environmental Protection Amir Peretz of the Hatnua Party in an interview with Al-Monitor, two days after the dramatic Knesset elections for the state presidency on June 10, which included effective cooperation between Hatnua and the Labor and Meretz parties.
This joining of forces almost resulted in the defeat of right-wing Knesset member Reuven Rivlin, and the election of Knesset member Meir Sheetrit of Hatnua. Still, it left those involved with a sense of wanting more — more of that cooperation that created an anomalous situation where opposition leader and Knesset member Isaac Herzog and Justice Minister and Hatnua Chairwoman Tzipi Livni worked shoulder to shoulder.
Meanwhile, Sheetrit is embroiled in a major scandal stemming from the revelation that in accordance with a secret agreement he paid his cleaning lady a large sum of money after she accused him of sexual harassment. The leaders of the Labor Party, which supported Sheetrit, felt embarrassed. But it appears that this has not damaged the feeling that the successful cooperation with Hatnua in the battle for the presidency, in which Peretz played a central role, holds potential for leading a common diplomatic agenda in the future. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is already looking on with concern.
