November 10, 2005
A LOSING STREAK THAT BEATS BOB SHRUM'S
Israel's Peres Loses Race to Lead Party (Scott Wilson, Washington Post, 11/10/05)
The union leader Amir Peretz narrowly defeated the ageless dean of Israeli politics, Shimon Peres, for the leadership of the Labor Party on Thursday, promising a shift in the country's founding political movement toward its socialist roots and perhaps a swift departure from the coalition government now in power.Peretz, who is head of the powerful Histadrut trade union association, won 42 percent of the vote to Peres's nearly 40 percent, according to final results announced early Thursday. A third candidate and former Labor leader, Binyamin Ben-Eliezer, took 17 percent of the ballots cast.
It's amazing that Shimon Peres has been a significant figure in Israeli politics for so long, yet he can never win an election.
Posted by kevin_whited at November 10, 2005 11:36 AM"Ya gotta know when to fold 'em."
Unfortunately, Peres don't.
On the other hand, if you gets out of politics, he might just wither away in fast motion. And deep down, he's still convinced, "If only, if only....; peace is right around the corner and I will be vindicated by history."
Well, one can't argue with it; except that reality seems to be standing in the way.
Posted by: Barry Meislin at November 10, 2005 12:19 PMHe just needs to team up with Bob Shrum and they'd be an electoral juggernaut.
Posted by: John at November 10, 2005 4:25 PM