The 15th convention of Herut which opened at the Binyanei Haooma here Sunday night found the party in its most serious state of disarray since Menachem Begin’s sudden resignation from the Premiership in 1983.
The festive ceremonials hardly masked the bitter internal power struggle that had not been resolved up to the time the 1,900 delegates and distinguished guests took their seats in the huge Jerusalem convention center.
It is a three-way struggle pitting party leader Yitzhak Shamir and his close associate, Minister-Without-Portfolio Moshe Arens, against Housing Minister David Levy, a rising star in Herut, and Minister of Commerce and Industry Ariel Sharon, its most outspoken hardliner.
Shamir, who is Deputy Premier and Foreign Minister, is expected to become Premier next October under the rotation of power agreement of the Labor-Likud unity coalition government. But he faces a powerful challenge from the Levy and Sharon factions which are allied, if only temporarily.
Shamir insisted in a radio interview Friday that the internal differences are “organizational and Personal–not ideological” and therefore not “so important.”
LAST MINUTE TRUCE FAILS
The party leadership failed, however, in a last-minute effort to arrange a truce. It rejected a demand by Sharon for a three-way split of Representation–and power–at the convention between the Shamir, Levy and his own factions. Shamir and Arens dismissed the Idea, maintaining that their strength exceeds that of Sharon and Levy combined. Now they must prove it.
The convention, which is to elect a new Central Committee, is expected to produce fireworks before it winds up in Tel Aviv Wednesday night. Most observers predict a tense four days, if not a rowdy political brawl.
Levy launched his most bitter public attack to date against Shamir in a radio interview Sunday, only hours before the convention opened. He accused the party leader of using undemocratic tactics to pack the convention with his supporters. The climactic moment is expected to come when the delegates cast ballots for the next Herut chairman.
Nominally, Begin still holds that position. But he has been living in seclusion since his retirement, has not taken an active role in party affairs and is not attending the convention. Nevertheless, he is the much revered founder of Herut, the leader who brought it out of the political wilderness nine years ago. Whether his father-figure image will influence the course the convention takes remains to be seen.
Begin is an unabashed supporter of Shamir and in a message read from the podium, he urged the delegates to unite under the leadership of Shamir. It was an explicit endorsement of Shamir to succeed him. But Levy’s supporters were unfazed. When the young Deputy Premier and Housing Minister entered the convention hall he was greeted by a lusty chorus of “David, King of Israel.”
If Shamir is not elected party chairman, his prestige and authority would suffer a politically devastating blow. His supporters are determined not to allow this to happen. But the forces arrayed against Shamir are formidable and some Herut circles are seeking a compromise candidate to avert a potentially disastrous split.
The name of Dr. Binyamin Zeev Begin, son of the former Premier, was floated on the eve of the convention. He is registered as a delegate. He had not responded by the time the convention opened. Political observers said the younger Begin’s purpose in attending the convention was to do all he could to block the advance of Sharon to the pinnacle of power in Herut. This is believed by the observers to reflect his father’s profound desire.
President Chaim Herzog and Premier Shimon Peres are attending the convention opening. Both will greet the delegates. Shamir will deliver the keynote address. Peres received a warm reception when he mounted the podium. And it became even warmer when he pledged, in the course of brief remarks, that the unity government would continue for the duration of the present Knesset’s term. “As we agreed … We began together, let us continue together,” he said.
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