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V This could have been Shelly Yachimovich’s week. With a fresh and attractive list emerging from the Labour primaries and the launch of her new economic plan, probably the most comprehensive social and fiscal manifesto ever published by an Israeli party, she should have been well on her way to setting the election’s agenda and re-establishing Labour as a viable political force.
Instead, like most of her predecessors in recent years, the Labour leader has found herself overtaken by events and beset by critics from within the party and competitors for the centre ground.
The launch of Labour’s “plan for a fair economy” on Monday evening was well-rehearsed and went ahead according to schedule, but it received little attention with news outlets focused on the diplomatic crisis between Israel and Europe over the latest plans to build beyond the Green Line.
The election of feminist activist Merav Michaeli to fifth spot on the party list — topped by Isaac Herzog — last week despite the lack of support from Ms Yachimovich is one of many simmering tensions within the party.
On Sunday, Ms Yacimovich cancelled a meeting with Amir Peretz, the former leader and defence minister who had come second in the primaries. Mr Peretz had spent the weekend demanding that Ms Yachimovich begin emphasising Labour’s positions on the peace process and that the party announce that it does not intend to join the Likud-Beiteinu coalition should Benjamin Netanyahu form the next government.
