The Liberal Party, Herut’s partner in Likud, held its internal elections Sunday for delegates to the party’s convention next week. But its future leadership remained in doubt with both chairman Simcha Ehrlich and Leon Dulzin, who said he will challenge Ehrlich for the party chairmanship, claiming victory.
Ehrlich, a Deputy Prime Minister and former Finance Minister, contended that some 75 percent of the delegates elected would favor him. But Energy Minister Yitzhak Modai, who supports Dulzin’s candidacy, insisted that the delegates loyal to him received 45 percent of the vote and would join with others to create an overwhelming majority for Dulzin.
Dulzin, who is chairman of the Jewish Agency and World Zionist Organization Executives, declared after the elections that the results gave him a solid basis for confidence that he would win the contest. He said his candidacy was intended to “revamp” the party and change its “image.”
Neither Dulzin nor Ehrlich ran in the internal elections themselves. There were many lists headed by party activists identified with one or the other, to greater or lesser degrees. Modai, long a bitter rival and critic of Ehrlich, claimed that his was the largest list. Other lists were headed by Commerce Minister Gideon Patt and Minister-Without-Portfolio Moshe Nissim. Patt is said to support Ehrlich.
Some party insiders suggested that if Dulzin is elected chairman he would be a “front man” for Modai inasmuch as Dulzin has no faction of his own. Others disagreed, noting that Modai needs Dulzin to dislodge Ehrlich because he himself is not regarded as a leader figure.
Discussing national matters, Dulzin said yesterday that he thought Defense Minister Ezer Weizman, a member of Herut, should head the Likud list in the Knesset elections next year. Should Likud win, Weizman would be come Premier. “With him of our head, we would stand a good chance of winning,” Dulzin said. Asked what would happen if Premier Menachem Begin sought a second term, Dulzin said that would lead to a split in Likud with the Liberals supporting Weizman.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
