Former Israeli Prime Minister Barak Climbs Back in the Saddle for another Shot at Premiership

When former Israeli prime minister Ehud Barak announced this week that he was withdrawing his 2012 retirement from politics, it really didn’t matter that no one actually believed his decision came as the result of absolute exasperation at incumbent Netanyahu’s statement less than a week ago that he was considering cancelling the snap election set for September 17. Even politically-savvy children understand the time frame for deciding to run for office, creation of a party, announcement of the candidacy and orchestrating a campaign exceeds a week. Although the former army chief-of-staff did defeat incumbent Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in 1999, Barak failed to serve out one complete term, Netanyahu returned to lead the nation for a decade — and possibly more. In July, he will surpass the legendary founding prime minister David Ben Gurion as the longest-serving head-of-state. Barak used his years out of office to amass what is frequently referred to as a “fortune,” but according to many, never lost the urge to reclaim the Prime Minister’s Office. And then there are other prizes. Israeli media is already suggesting that if Barak fails to become PM, don’t be surprised to see him as Netanyahu’s second-in-command.