Behind the Headlines Dmc Faces Stormy Future

The national council of the Democratic Movement for Change (DMC) will meet next Sunday and it promises to be the stormiest session in the history of the young political faction formed only 18 months ago. The DMC is torn by internal dissension over support for the policies of Premier Menachem Begin’s coalition government of which it is a member.

There is a wide gap between the rank-and-file and the top leaders of the party who now sit in the Cabinet. It has failed to live up to its promises to bring about social change. It has exerted little influence on government policies. And the credibility of its leader, the well known archaeologist Prof. Yigael Yadin, is at lowest ebb.

The latest strains in the DMC’s fabric were demonstrated Sunday when its northern district council, meeting in Haifa, called on the party to reaffirm its platform and urge Begin and Likud as a whole to reconsider their positions on the West Bank, one of the major causes of Israel’s present rift with the U.S. The meeting was held only a few hours after the Cabinet, which includes four DMC ministers, unanimously approved Begin’s policies and his presentation of them to President Carter.

The resolution was interpreted as a strong expression of doubt in the wisdom of Yadin, who is also Deputy Premier, and his three DMC fellow ministers. The northern council members intend to present a similar motion to the full council next Sunday. But even they are divided. The resolution adopted last Sunday was a compromise between members who want the DMC to quit the coalition government immediately and those who support Begin’s policies.

SYMPTOMATIC OF WIDESPREAD DISCONTENT

The differences aired at the Haifa meeting were symptomatic of the widespread discontent among the 200,000 voters who gave the DMC 15 Knesset seats in its political debut last May 17. The DMC emerged from the elections as Israel’s third largest party, after Likud and the Labor Alignment. But it has not exerted influence commensurate with that position.

During the debate on whether or not to join Begin’s coalition last fall, the chief argument in favor of entering the government was that the DMC would be a moderating factor, countering the hard line of Begin’s Herut Party. This has yet to materialize.

Begin’s peace plan bears his name and contains no signs of any input from the DMC ministers. At Sunday’s Cabinet meeting, one DMC member, Transport Minister Meir Amit, suggested that Israel should, perhaps review its policies. But Yadin wholeheartedly supported the case presented by Begin in the U.S. last week and Amit was apparently swept along in the unanimous approval of the Premier’s actions.

Yadin can probably claim a record for the speed with which he has lost popularity among the electorate. When he announced his intention to run for political office he was widely regarded as a potential leader who could save the country from the turmoil, drift and corruption of the Labor-led government. But it has been downhill for him since. His current status was illustrated on a Purim radio program when an interviewee was asked to tell the shortest joke in the world. To the applause of the audience, he replied: “Yadin.”