Peres: A Test of Nerves

He should have been baggy-eyed and rumpled at the end of the most hectic week of his life. But Shimon Peres, as usual, was relaxed and well-groomed as he sipped Turkish coffee in his Defense Ministry office while discussing Israel's latest political crisis with TIME Jerusalem Bureau Chief Donald Neff and Correspondent David Halevy. The only clue that the pressure had taken its toll: Peres, 53, whose memory is notably accurate, from time to time peeked at a small pocket diary to check on his recollections of what he called "in political terms, a complete revolution."

Like most other Israelis, Peres first learned about Premier Yitzhak Rabin's resignation when he watched the Premier's television speech on April 7. The previous night Yitzhak and Leah Rabin had been dinner guests of Peres and his wife Sonia, who, of course, knew about the resignation rumors. Rabin looked a little tense, a little sad, but gave no indication that he planned to step down.

After Rabin's speech, Peres moved decisively to nail down the Labor Party nomination for Premier that he had twice lost by narrow margins. "I knew I had the support of the party," said Peres, but he had to prove as much to Foreign Minister Yigal Allon, 58. That involved argument, cajolement and, in the end, tough political bargaining. Only hours before the decisive meeting of the Labor Party's central committee, Allon finally agreed not to fight Peres for the top post. Peres in turn announced that the Foreign Minister would be Labor's "No. 2 for everything." Translation: Allon had his choice of any post in the new government.

Peres also spent hours haggling with Labor Party factions intent upon placing their candidates high up in the "safe" seats in the parliamentary election. (In Israel, party representation in the Knesset is determined by the percentage of the total vote that each party receives; the higher on the list a candidate is, the surer his chance for election.) "The pressures were tremendous," said Peres about the bargaining. "The most important thing is not to lose your nerve. In this sort of thing you are suddenly surrounded by conflicting forces and tension, nervousness--some of your friends are terribly worried and some of your opponents terribly bitter. It is basically a test for your nerves." To his listeners, the Peres formula for dealing with political adversaries also sounded like a blueprint for future peace negotiatons with the Arabs.

Peres was unhappy that Rabin did not quit as Premier immediately. But the Defense Minister refused to discuss the problems of his old antagonist directly. "You never take advantage when a fellow is in trouble," he said. "That's the first role in any civilized society. Rabin went through very deep agony. Justice demands that we make it as easy as possible to get over a very difficult period."

Peres intends to run a "positive campaign," stressing the need for "a responsible, stable government that can conduct serious international negotiations." He also hopes to stem Israel's horrendous inflation (currently an annual 38.8%) by seeking wage and price freezes. Peres has already begun to put together a transition team. Veteran Career Diplomat Ephraim Evron, who was about to leave for London as ambassador, has been asked to stay home until the election. There is speculation that, if Peres becomes Premier, Evron may replace Simcha Dinitz as Ambassador to the U.S. Dinitz is a Golda Meir protege; Meir and Peres have long been enemies.

Peres groaned when asked whether he is a hawk or a dove. "I think the art of government is decision making," he parried. "You don't make a decision just in accordance with your prejudices. It depends on the conditions and prospects of a given situation." The Defense Minister is known to prefer step-by-step peacemaking to an overall approach. Still, he is not worried about going to Geneva, even though he is dubious about the possibility of a peace settlement in 1977. "It is not that I favor automatically one approach to the other," he said. "But when I analyze the situation, I find that step by step may have a better chance of succeeding. But it is not an obsession. It is my estimation."

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