Israeli cabinets are notoriously fractious affairs, and it is normal for ministers to spend more time fighting and backbiting than conducting government business. So it is something of a miracle that the current prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and his defence minister, Ehud Barak, appear to have created a uniquely harmonious relationship.
According to the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, these two men – drawn from opposite ends of the political spectrum – are so close that they talk every day and at the end of the week they sit down together in private for two to three hours. They are a “joint leadership axis”– a rare occurrence in a country where the prime minister of the day usually views his defence minister as a greater threat than all the Arab armies.
There two men were opponents in the past: Mr Barak trounced Mr Netanyahu in the 1999 elections, forcing him to abandon politics for a while. Mr Netanyahu leads the right-wing Likud bloc. Mr Barak represents Labour, the so-called “peace party” that has long favoured a Palestinian state. Among Labour stalwarts, Mr Barak is seen as a figleaf for the most right-wing government in Israeli history. There is some truth in this. Mr Barak is like an ageing celebrity, who will do anything to stay in the public eye. He once volunteered to play himself for laughs in a TV satire.
Read Full Article »