Defence of Israel falls to civvie-street Peretz

ISRAEL - Amir Peretz, former small-town mayor, former union boss who never rose higher than captain in a non-combat unit, looks set to be Israel's next Defence Minister.

It is not the job the 54-year-old Labour leader sought when he fought the March election on a social platform, but it is the one he seems to be headed for after Prime Minister elect Ehud Olmert agreed a coalition with his party.

Questions are being asked about the wisdom of entrusting a civilian with the mantle of former generals Moshe Dayan, Yitzhak Rabin, Ariel Sharon, Ehud Barak and Shaul Mofaz at a time when Israel is challenged by a Hamas-led Palestinian Authority and an Iran rattling nuclear sabres.

The coalition deal agreed by Olmert will assure his Kadima Party a slim majority for evacuating dozens of outlying West Bank settlements, but will deny him the stability he hoped for.

Critics also note that Olmert did his national service as a reporter on the Army newspaper.

Aryeh Eldad, a right-wing MP and retired brigadier-general, warned his countrymen that they could be entering a "very dangerous period" under these two security amateurs.

"The political level," he wrote, "does not have the tools to examine the alternatives presented by the security establishment."

But Moshe Arens, an aeronautical engineer who served as Likud Defence Minister in the 80s and 90s, saw an advantage in a civilian appointment.

"A civilian," he contended, "comes in with a clean slate ... He has no preconceived notions about how the Army is organised, how the Army should function, about the kind of operations it should undertake and how it should undertake them. He has no prior obligations, no prior dislikes, for people he's served with."

The question troubling even those who endorse this argument is whether Peretz, a flamboyant loner who has alienated some of his Labour colleagues during the coalition negotiations, fits the bill. He will need to learn quickly, to listen, but not be bullied. If he succeeds, he could yet be Prime Minister. If he fails, the voters will not give him a second chance.

The coalition - which includes the Pensioners' Party, Labour, the religious Shas party and Kadima - will see Olmert command 67 seats in the 120-seat Knesset Parliament.

Talks are continuing with the orthodox Torah Judaism party, with six MPs, and Russian immigrant party Yisrael Beitenu, which controls 11 seats, but its leader Avigdor Lieberman has been barred pending a probe into alleged financial offences.

Lior Horev, an adviser to Olmert, admitted that it would be more difficult for Kadima to complete a full four-year term with a smaller coalition.

"The whole idea of building an 84-seat coalition was to allow Olmert to keep his majority, even if one party decides to pull out. Without Torah Judaism and Lieberman, if either Labour or Shas pulls out, he loses his majority."

- INDEPENDENT