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(May 24) - One of the Center Party's top four described his hectic attempts to get through to Prime Minister-elect Ehud Barak or to pick the brains of those senior Laborites who pride themselves on being close to him and in the know. He wanted inside information on what portfolios Barak has in mind for whom. His attempts to establish contact with Barak failed miserably. He did get through to plenty of would-be Labor ministers, only to discover that none of them did any better in exchanging a word with Barak. The bottom line is no one knows anything. No one has yet been graced with so much as a phone call from Barak. He does, however, plan to meet individually with One Israel MKs, but they have already been told in advance not to talk about portfolios, because they will be told nothing and promised nothing. Barak's mysterious mongering is not capricious but an almost unavoidable tactic, considering the enormous pressures he can expect from a host of politicians from his and other parties. Those around him say there are at least four claimants for each portfolio, not only for the more prestigious ones. Barak will have to compensate many of the those who will eventually find themselves let down. He reportedly has already asked that an inventory of consolation gifts be assembled, such as ambassadorships, directors-general appoint ments, top positions in public companies, etc. Even an enlarged cabinet will not accommodate all those now after portfolios. The fact that no one really has any inkling what Barak has in mind, or even whether he has formulated certain preferences from which he will not retreat, has not prevented a plethora of speculation from inside Labor and intimations to journalists about who is likely to get which portfolio. On the whole, it is safe to generalize that none of this is based on actual information and is, in fact, no more than a deliberate attempt at disinformation in the service of an interested party. Thus, one source inside One Israel yesterday insisted that neither Ariel Sharon nor Yossi Beilin stands any chance of winning the coveted Foreign Affairs portfolio, because both are too extreme. Sharon is too Right and Beilin too far to the Left. The only ideal candidate for the job is Gesher's David Levy. The source for this, of course, is from Gesher and is particularly close to Levy. Likewise, those in Labor who both advocate partnership with Shas or with the Likud have a purpose to serve. Most of the Shas proponents are those with a close interest in the Foreign Affairs portfolio, like Shlomo Ben-Ami, Beilin, and his patron Shimon Peres. They fear that any attempt to strike a deal with the Likud will cost Labor a senior portfolio and it could be Foreign Affairs. On the other hand, those who prefer the Likud to Shas are on the whole those who want to see Meretz inside the coalition. Since Meretz has hinged its participation on Shas's exclusion, Meretz's political fate has become intrinsically linked to that of the Likud. Right now, admit sources throughout the One Israel spectrum, no rumor, even if seemingly unconnected to the coalition formation process, is being spread unless it serves someone's specific interest. Thus Labor is rife with rumors that Barak will try as soon as he can to replace Labor secretary-general Ra'anan Cohen, with whom he clashed incessantly. Cohen, however, is not upset and his friends are very active in circulating the story. Their cheerful conclusion is that this improves Cohen's chances of beating Binyamin Ben-Eliezer in their contest for the Housing portfolio (which is also avidly sought by Yisrael Ba'aliya, which wants this ministry too under nash kontrol). The idea is that Barak will be so eager to get rid of Cohen on the party level that he will kick him upstairs to a ministerial position. Such speculation is perhaps why the immediate aim in both Labor and the Likud now is to cool the coalition ardor by ambitious MKs. In his upcoming meetings with them, Barak will pressure his MKs to hold their tongues. Sharon, the Likud's caretaker leader, also has implored his MKs to restrain themselves, stressing that no one is ruling out participation in the coalition, but that there is no sense rushing to join it before an invitation has been issued. One Likudnik, though, judges that the Likud is already too eager to get on board. That is outgoing Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, and this is cited as the chief reason for his plan to announce that he is quitting the Knesset. He considers Likud membership in Barak's government an anomaly. But here, too, no one really knows for sure. Netanyahu has been no less elusive than Barak and much that is said about what he thinks is no more than conjecture either. There are those who insist that his possible resignation from the Knesset is something he intended doing even before the election, when his defeat already appeared inevitable.
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