MIDDLE EAST: Amir Peretz's surprise election as leader of Israel's Labor Party has stirred up the entire political landscape in ways that go far beyond the immediate upset of his triumph over the seasoned incumbent and pollsters' favourite, Shimon Peres, writes Nuala Haughey.
The knock-on effect of his pre-election pledge to pull Labor out of its cosy coalition with Ariel Sharon's rightist Likud Party means early elections - announced yesterday for late February or March.
Peretz's determination to bring Labor back to its socialist roots and push socio-economic issues to the forefront of his agenda is sure to spice up the election campaign.
And a Labor Party which was somewhat smugly propping up a right-wing government has received a shot in the arm from a relatively young and vigorous leader (53 as opposed to Peres's 82) who cut his teeth as a local politician and trade unionist.
In short, Israel has got its main opposition back.
Peretz is set on rebuilding his party, reversing the political upheaval of 1977 when Likud first came to power, ending Labor's 29-year hegemony.
Then, it was the support of the Mizrahim - Jews from the Arab world referred to as the "second Israel" - who propelled Likud to power. As the child of Arabic-speaking, working-class immigrants himself, Peretz is setting out to win back these voters, disproportionately poor and decidedly marginalised in a country ruled primarily by an elite of European origin.
With his trademark light-blue shirt and thick handlebar moustache, Peretz is the antithesis of the Labor establishment, becoming the first politician from the civil sector to head a party whose past leaders have had careers in the army or the security establishment.
The appearance of such an energised and opposition-oriented Labor leader has set several other parties worrying that he may woo their voters. Even before Peretz's victory, the Likud foreign minister Silvan Shalom reportedly predicted he could take votes away from his party, particularly from supporters feeling the squeeze under Likud's Thatcherite economic policies. A poll last week in the mass circulation newspaper Ma'ariv indicated Peretz would increase Labor's Knesset strength to 27 seats from the current 22.
While some of Peretz's opponents portray him as a "Bolshevik demon" whose policies will spell economic ruin, this is far from the reality.
He is more of a social democrat preaching competitive economics with a human face, reflected in his commitment to close a widening social gap by increasing the minimum wage and old-age pension payments. He has shown great interest in Ireland's social partnership model and last year sought out briefings from the Irish ambassador in Tel Aviv, followed with a visit to Ireland to meet ICTU officials in November.
The son of a factory worker, Peretz moved to Israel with his parents at the age of four and spent years in a desert transit camp in southern Israel that would later become the town of Sderot, where he still lives with his wife and four children.
Overcoming a serious leg injury sustained during his army service, he became Sderot's mayor in the 1980s and in 1995 he was elected chairman of the Histadrut Labor Federation, making his career battling public-sector budget cuts, leading crippling national strikes and making impassioned pleas against privatisation.
First elected to the Knesset in 1998 as a member of the Labor Party, six years ago he founded the small Am Ehad (One Nation) party, which he led until its recent merger with Labor.
He has never held a cabinet post and is untested in security matters. He is also facing some internal opposition for his somewhat bullish statements since his election.
On the Palestinian issue, Peretz is decidedly dovish, a position which makes him popular with the struggling Israeli left, but may scare off voters who tend to favour leaders whose approach is more iron fist than velvet glove.
Peretz's first major public appearance since his win was at last Saturday's rally marking the 10th anniversary of the assassination of the former Labor prime minister, Yitzhak Rabin.
"Violence is gnawing at the essence of Israeli democracy," he told the audience.
"Violence is not only in the conflict [ with the Palestinians], it's between us . The ongoing occupation in the territories is a recipe for the loss of values in Israel."
If Peretz is to succeed in making Labor the force it once was, he must translate his fervour for social justice and peace into policies that attract centrist voters.