Israel's Labor Party : Peretz upsets Peres

[Cyrus]

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JERUSALEM (AP) -- November 10, 2005
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A fiery union leader won a stunning victory over Shimon Peres in the leadership contest for Israel's Labor Party, dealing a blow to the elder statesman that could endanger the country's shaky governing coalition.
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Amir Peretz has promised to pull Labor out of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's government, raising the likelihood of early elections. [The] labor leader captured over 42 percent of the vote, while Peres took just under 40 percent. A third candidate, former party head Binyamin Ben-Eliezer, got 17 percent.
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The outcome will have deep implications for Sharon's shaky coalition. Peres, a former prime minister who is now vice premier, wanted to keep Labor in the government until elections scheduled in November 2006.
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Peretz wants to steer the party back to its socialist roots, pull out of the coalition and force early elections. [But] Sharon remains the country's most popular politician and Labor leaders believe they are in no position to unseat him.


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CNN Report

[Gamblor]

Peretz has been the head of the national labour union (Histadrut) forever, and is an absolutely hilarious character.

He is a dead ringer for Amir Vahedi, in every sense. Should be hilarious to watch him scream his speeches into the microphone (assuming it works [img]/images/graemlins/smirk.gif[/img])