http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L3080444.htm30 Nov 2004 19:50:00 GMT
Source: Reuters
JERUSALEM, Nov 30 (Reuters) - Former Israeli prime minister Ehud Barak leapt back into the political spotlight on Tuesday, seizing the stage in a raucous comeback at a meeting of the Labour Party he once led.
Barak, a former general who took a timeout from politics after losing to Ariel Sharon in the 2001 prime ministerial election, bounded on to the podium at a session of Labour's central committee and wrestled the microphone from a speaker.
The incident, broadcast live on television, stirred political commentators to speculate whether it was a calculated move by Barak to return to political life in a blaze of publicity.
As the hall erupted in shouting, Barak, pushing speaker Moshe Shahal, a veteran Labour official, with his hand, called on members to postpone a vote for party primary elections until the party's legal adviser was consulted.
"You have turned the Labour central committee into the Likud central committee," a furious Shahal screamed at Barak, who eventually descended from the stage with his bodyguard in tow.
It was one of the sharpest insults one Labour member could hurl at another: Likud's central committee is renowned for its chaotic sessions in which not even prime ministers are immune to catcalls and booing by grassroots activists.
Barak, Israel's most decorated soldier, riled political allies with his reputed autocratic style during his two years as prime minister. Many in Labour, now the main opposition party, expressed relief when he retired.
Asked about Barak's behaviour at the central committee, Labour leader Shimon Peres -- the man he hopes to replace -- told reporters: "Whoever saw it, can judge."
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