Peres to Ask Labor to Reverse Stand Against Coalition Talks

Foreign Minister Shimon Peres said today that he would ask his left-leaning Labor Party to reverse itself and permit talks with the right-wing Likud bloc on forming another coalition government.

Peres made the announcement after meeting with President Chaim Herzog, a veteran Labor lawmaker who has urged Labor and Likud to form a joint government. The two parties have governed in an uneasy coalition since 1984.

“I was very impressed by what the president had to say,” Peres said. “I told him I will propose to convene the (party’s) Central Committee this week. I will recommend to the committee to meet the request of the president.”

The Labor Party’s 110-member Executive Bureau voted last week against negotiating with Likud. The 1,300-member Central Committee has the authority to overrule the Executive Bureau.

Uzi Baram, Labor’s secretary general, said later in the day that the committee will convene Thursday to vote on Peres’ proposal.

The issue of negotiating with Likud has deeply divided the Labor Party and renewed the longstanding rivalry between Peres and the party’s No. 2 leader, Defense Minister Yitzhak Rabin.

Rabin, who would probably remain defense minister in a coalition government, has backed talks with Likud.

Peres’ position has been more ambiguous. He was actively involved in trying to form a narrow Labor-led government but, when he failed, he appeared to move toward talks with Likud.