Return of the Flash

While Barak Obama was busy winning a Senate seat in IL, another Barak from another place with the postal code IL was busy making a comeback. Ehud Barak, who disappeared like a flash of lightening (which, by the way, is what Barak means in Hebrew) when he lost to Ariel Sharon in 2001, is now going to run for chairman of the Labor Party and its candidate for Prime Minister in the next elections (which are scheduled for two years from now, but will probably be held earlier).

I voted for Barak in 2001. Had he stayed in the Knesset opposition after his failure, I would have probably supported him again. But he left and, much like Benjamin Netanyahu had done when Barak defeated him, spent most of his time abroad as a lecturer and consultant. He made some serious mistakes as PM, but when he temporarily abandoned politics he gave up a chance to rectify his mistakes.

It seems the contenders for the chairmanship of Labor will be:

• Shimon Peres - the 81 year old eternal chairman. Time for him to go.
• Ehud Barak
• Amir Peretz - the closest thing to a Bolshevik the Labor Party has seen lately. He's the head of Israel's strongest workers' union, with a far-left social and economic stance. He'd be a horrible PM, and I believe most Israelis know this. Labor would crash even harder with him at the helm.
• Benjamin Ben-Eliezer - the former Minister of Defense. He's a moderate, but I don't think he'd be a good chief executive.
• Matan Vilnai - my favorite. Though I don't like retired generals going into politics, I think this retired Maj. Gen. will be the best chance for Labor to get stronger and possibly win the prime ministry. He's a centrist. That's what Israel needs.